Designing microbes for release into the environment.

After 20 years in which gene technology has become an important part of modern biotechnology we have seen very beneficial applications of the new techniques in the pharmaceutical industry. We are now entering a second phase involving the deliberate release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment. This next step causes concern because of a low level of predictability of their possible effects. While the risk assessment of microbial release is far from easy, the strain designers also face problems concerning optimization of performance of the organisms. The two groups of actors in this new development--the risk assessors and the strain designers--need the same platform of understanding from the field of microbial ecology, and a number of specific areas which may now be approached by modern technology deserve particular attention. An increased understanding of the activities of microbes in the environment will also allow construction of more predictable, and therefore safer, strains. Biological containment and molecular microbial ecology are two sides of the same coin in the context of release of genetically engineered microorganisms.