THE prominent British virologist responsible for the controversial 鈥渟corpion gene experiments鈥� lost his job last week, although the experiments are likely to continue. At a meeting early last week, John Krebs, chief executive of the Natural Environment Research Council, offered David Bishop 鈥渃ompulsory early redundancy鈥� from his post as director of the Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology in Oxford. Bishop was ordered to clear his desk by 5 pm on Friday.
Krebs says the decision had 鈥渘othing whatsoever鈥� to do with the protests over Bishop鈥檚 experiments with genetically engineered viruses. Bishop increased the killing power of viruses that attack caterpillar pests by giving them a gene for scorpion venom. His aim was to develop viral 鈥渂iopesticides鈥� that would be less damaging to the environment than chemical pesticides. Environmentalists and people living near the site of the experiment protested about the trials, arguing that the viruses could spread to a nearby nature reserve and harm the caterpillars of endangered moths (鈥淲ill the scorpion gene run wild?鈥�, New 杏吧原创, 25 June 1994).
Krebs says that following an independent review of the institute鈥檚 work, the council decided to change its 鈥渕ission鈥� to make its work more relevant to industry and to investigate the biodiversity of microorganisms. 鈥淭he conclusion was that in order to really refocus the programme we would need different leadership,鈥� says Krebs.
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Bishop claims that the revised mission is virtually indistinguishable from the existing one, and that the programme of work under his directorship satisfied its requirements. He called the decision 鈥減recipitate and unwarranted鈥�. Krebs has appointed Pat Nuttall, a specialist in tick-borne diseases, as acting director of the institute.
According to Krebs, the experiments with the genetically engineered viruses will continue.
George McGavin, assistant curator of entomological collections at the Oxford University Museum and a prominent opponent of Bishop鈥檚 work, says: 鈥淚f the experiments continue, I鈥檒l continue my opposition.鈥�