Revise: Genetic control of metabolismPotential problems in using micro-organisms

There are some considerations and potential hazards when we consider the manipulation of the genetic material of micro-organisms, for example:

• Risk of uncontrolled dispersal into the natural environment.
• Micro-organisms are highly adaptable to different ecological niches and could disrupt those environments.
• Sideways transfer of genetic material to different species could occur.
• Unforeseen metabolic modifications could be hard to control.
• Creation of new pathogenic micro-organisms is a possibility.