Scientists at the University of Florida probably believed they were about to provide much-needed relief to the hundreds of Californian winegrowers facing the pending possibility of a devastating outbreak of the deadly Pierce’s Disease, courtesy of its insect vector, the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Reports from the university suggest they have successfully used a common plant virus to insert a gene derived from silkworms into embryonic grapes able to create a protein able to kill the cells which cause Pierce’s Disease. Trouble is that melittin, the protein in question, is also present in bee venom and has been known to cause anaphylactic shock in humans, which according to the Health on the Net Foundation, is ‘an often severe and sometimes fatal systemic reaction! characterized especially by respiratory symptoms, fainting, itching, swelling of the throat or other mucous membranes and a sudden decline in blood pressure’. I’m sure the growers are just thrilled to bits by this news.
