As with your previous excursion into genetically modified agricultural crop plants, your goals are the following:
- Identify issues that are pertinent to the question of how genetic modification should be regulated
- Identify pertinent assertions that go beyond philosophy and should rest on experimental observations
- Identify pertinent observations that bear on these assertions -- research articles and the experiments therein
- Bear in mind that the final report is bound by the requirement that "[a]ll assertions in the recommendations will be supported by citations to published evidence. The subcommittee will not rely on mere assertions, even from experts.", you should view what you read through this lens. Recall also that evidence is observations, not mere assertions.
To accomplish these aims, you may have to go beyond the confines of the focus articles and monograph I've listed below. Citations within these resources are a good place to start. With that preparation, the meeting on March 12th should enable the subcommittee to combine insights and evidence on specific questions and chart a course aimed at producing a document that describes prospects in ecological applications of genetically modified organisms and to propose regulations. Bring with you what you found regarding the points listed above. It is unreasonable to expect that the subcommittee would be able so early to judge the merits of different positions, but it should be able to identify issues that need to be pursued and research articles that would be useful in that endeavor. When the day of the meeting arrives, be ready to serve as the spokesperson for your chosen resource.
I advise that you decide as early as possible what resource below you will focus on and communicate your preference to the rest of the committee. The resource you choose will most likely point you to the subject on which you will write your section of the final report.
- Bikard D, Barrangou R (2017).
Using CRISPR-Cas systems as antimicrobials.
Curr Opin Microbiol 37:155-160.
- Hussain I, Aleti G, Naidu R, Puschenreiter M, Mahmood Q, Rahman MM, Wang F, Shaheen S, Syed JH, Reichenauer TG (2018).
Microbe and plant assisted-remediation of organic xenobiotics and its enhancement by genetically modified organisms and recombinant technology: A review.
Sci Total Environ 628-629:1582-1599.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2016)
Gene Drives on the Horizon: Advancing Science, Navigating Uncertainty, and Aligning Research with Public Values.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
You might focus on the sections regarding how gene drives work and the examples with mosquitos.
- Prowse TAA, Cassey P, Ross JV, Pfitzner C, Wittmann TA, Thomas P (2017).
Dodging silver bullets: good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates.
Proc Biol Sci 284:20170799.
- Shemer B, Palevsky N, Yagur-Kroll S, Belkin S (2015).
Genetically engineered microorganisms for the detection of explosives' residues.
Front Microbiol 29:1175.
Books and general references
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