I came across this article which claims that in the early 1990’s, a genetically engineered bacterium that would/could have wiped out all plant life on Earth was almost released into the wild. Obviously, this was not its original intent, but it almost was.
What I wonder is, what was/is the ultimate fate of this bacterium? Do samples still exist? Is the danger in any way reduced today (assuming the article is completely factual itself)? What about the process of creating it? Could someone with sufficient knowledge and an apocalyptic mindset basically destroy all life on Earth with this stuff tomorrow?
I tried Googling this, but practically all links not about this article in particular are for anti-GM sites, which itself mildly arouses my suspicion, but not enough to discount the above link entirely.
Thanks in advance!