Laboratory K-12 colonizing our guts?

[Trond Erik Vee Aune]

Dear all,

Yesterday we started discussing the possibility of our recombinant 
E.coli K-12 establishing themselves in our guts. I know there were some 
controversy around this in the 70's, but I haven't been able to find out 
what the conclusions were. Here are some specific questions:

* Can our modern laboratory K-12 acutally establish themselves in our 
guts, competing with our natural flora?
* What if after an antibiotics cure when the natural flora is greatly 
reduced?
* Can expression of recombinant proteins from such bacteria cause 
problems with human health)

I would especially like any references to articles that handle these 
questions.

Best regards,
Trond Erik

-- 
Trond Erik Vee Aune
Department of Biotechnology, NTNU
http://www.biotech.ntnu.no/molgen

- Must be sad being a dyslectic, agnostic insomniac, lying
   awake during the night, wondering if there really is a dog