Problems Posed by Antibiotic Resistance Reporter Genes - The antibiotic resistance genes used for the selection of transformed cells are expressed in every cell of the resulting transgenic plants.

It has been argued that such genes and their protein products could cause problems to human health and the environment as summarised below.

1. The protein products of such genes could be toxic to humans/animals.
2. The food from transgenic crops will contain the antibiotic resistance gene. When such food is consumed, the bacteria present in human intestine could acquire the antibiotic resistance gene present in the food. This would make the bacteria resistant to the antibiotics concerned, and they may become difficult to manage.
3. The antibiotic resistance gene could be passed on from the transgenic crops to some other organisms in the environment, and this could damage the ecosystem.