RALEIGH, N.C. -- Working with Phillip Morris USA, scientists have genetically modified tobacco plants to knock out a gene that turns nicotine into one of the carcinogens in cured tobacco, according to a report in Wired magazine.
The Philip Morris-funded North Carolina State researchers say the work could lead to less cancer-causing chewing tobacco. In large scale field trials, they compared the levels of N-nitrosonornicotine, a chemical known as NNN, between genetically modified tobacco plants and a control group. They found a six-fold decrease in NNN and a 50% overall drop in a whole [image-nocss] class of nasty substances known as tobacco-specific nitrosamines, according to the report.
The results of the new work appear in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
PMUSA spokesperson David Sutton said the company is reviewing the results of the study before drawing any conclusions on how it might work with company products.
“This type of research is a really important component of our overall commitment to reduce the harm of tobacco,” he told CSP Daily News. “We 're going to be reviewing this research to determine the future applicability for our products.”
The researchers do not state how much the use of the tobacco could reduce the health risks from chewing tobacco. Given the other 15-odd carcinogenic substances present even in chew, they do note that the best way to avoid cancer from nicotine is not to use it.
Not oblivious to consumer opposition to many genetically modified crops, the researchers then created a line of tobacco plants missing the same gene they'd previously knocked out through conventional breeding techniques. They are currently trying to introduce that mutation into commercial tobacco lines, presumably avoiding a genetically modified organism label.
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture Records, Philip Morris, a tobacco giant which had $66 billion in revenue last year, has run dozens of field trials for genetically modified tobacco varieties, according to Wired.
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