PALMERSTON NORTH - Human error has been blamed for a Massey University researcher conducting a genetic engineering experiment without proper authority.
The admission follows the Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) suspending the power for universities and research institutions to approve their own low-risk genetic engineering.
Last month, Erma discovered several breaches ofthe law at Otago University's School of Medicine in Christchurch, and the Landcare research centre in Auckland.
Erma chief executive Bas Walker said his group was now checking 25 institutions nationwide to see if other research was being done without approval.
"The check is still in progress but, to date, further examples have been reported at the Universities of Canterbury, Victoria, Massey and Waikato, and the crown research institute ESR," he said.
Erma has given genetic engineering researchers until May 24 to clean up their acts or face big fines.
Massey deputy vice-chancellor Stuart McCutcheon said the breach of protocol had been confined to one incident a year ago.
Massey became aware of the slip only after a double-check via a memo to its researchers.
Professor McCutcheon said the incident related to a routine, low-risk laboratory procedure in which a researcher had put plant genes into bacteria in a bid to determine the gene sequence.
Unlike cloning DNA (the process used to create Dolly the sheep), for which there were strict protocols, the procedure did not create a new organism, so the researcher had been unaware that it required special authority.
The bacteria had been destroyed immediately after the procedure, Professor McCutcheon said.
The university had since checked all its other procedures and had made sure all staff were aware of the protocols required when conducting genetic research, he said.
It would also report to the authority on the review of its procedures, in line with the May 24 deadline.
