On June 24, 2024, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of
Industry and Service (BIS) imposed an administrative penalty on
Indiana University (IU) as part of a settlement agreement following
IU's discovery and self-disclosure to BIS that its Bloomington
Drosophila Stock Center engaged in the export of materials that
violated the Export Administration Regulations. IU's violations
stemmed from its export of biological and genetic material without
the proper license under the BIS.
The exports at issue involved genetically modified drosophila
expressing transgenes that encode a component of the toxin ricin
known as ricin toxin A chain. Drosophila, or the fruit fly, is a
common model organism in genetic research because of its simple
genetic makeup that consists of only four chromosomes and a short
life cycle allowing for rapid reproduction for studies. Ricin is a
ribosome inactivating protein that halts protein synthesis to
produce its toxic effects. The toxin is comprised
