Genetically modified bacteria were the first organisms to be modified in the laboratory, due to their simple genetics. These organisms are now used for several purposes, and are particularly important in producing large amounts of pure human proteins for use in medicine.
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History
The first example of this occurred in 1978 when Herbert Boyer, working at a University of California laboratory, took a version of the human insulin gene and inserted into the bacterium Escherichia coli to produce synthetic "human" insulin. Four years later, it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Pharmaceutical production
Other uses
Genetically modified bacteria can serve various purposes beyond producing medicinal compounds. For instance, bacteria which generally cause tooth decay have been engineered to no longer produce tooth-corroding lactic acid. These transgenic bacteria, if allowed to colonize a person's mouth, could perhaps reduce the formation of cavities. Transgenic microbes have also been used in recent research to kill or hinder tumors, and to fight Crohn's disease. Genetically modified bacteria are also used in some soils to facilitate crop growth, and can also produce chemicals toxic to crop pests.
GM bacteria have also been developed to leach copper from ore, clean up mercury pollution and detect arsenic in drinking water.