Iowa State plant scientists tweak their biopharmaceutical corn research projectJune 26, 2006AMES, Iowa — A biopharmaceutical corn created at Iowa State University is getting a makeover. Researchers are developing the corn into a variety that keeps the therapeutic protein, but eliminates the pollen. And they're using traditional breeding to do it. ISU researchers have had promising results using the biopharmaceutical corn to treat bacterial diarrhea in pigs. Now they are shifting their focus. They are developing a male sterile corn that carries the transgene. Because male sterile corn plants do not produce pollen, the new biopharmaceutical variety could be grown in corn-producing states without risk of pollinating traditional corn varieties.
"Pollen movement is the issue," said Kendall Lamkey, interim chair of agronomy and Pioneer Distinguished Chair in Maize Breeding. "And that's the most controllable part of the corn production system." Lamkey, who also directs the Raymond F. Baker Center for Plant Breeding, leads the breeding portion of the research. Kan Wang, the principal researcher, who successfully transformed the corn, is professor of agronomy and director of the Center for Plant Transformation. Both centers are part of Iowa State's Plant Sciences Institute, which initiated the research. The ongoing project is supported by the institute and the College of Agriculture. Lamkey and Wang say it will take about five growing seasons to make all the breeding crosses needed. The first season took place last winter in the Plant Sciences Institute's Roy J. Carver Co-Laboratory biosafe greenhouse. The biopharmaceutical corn was crossed with the non-transgenic, male-fertile corn line to produce a transgenic F1 hybrid. Seeds from that cross are being used this summer in a field trial on remote land owned by Iowa State. The breeding process in the field trial will not shed transgenic pollen. The transgenic crop will be detasseled. It will be surrounded by rows of non-transgenic corn, which will pollinate the detasseled transgenic plants. Iowa State received permit approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and from the state for the research. The research plot is located on less than one-half acre of university land in Marshall county. It is about a half mile away from and was planted 28 days later than the nearest commercial corn. A fence will keep out wildlife. The research exceeds APHIS requirements for field trials of regulated plants. The seed harvested in the fall will be used in the winter again in the high containment greenhouse. Another field trial is expected to take place next summer. The 2006 field trial is the latest in a series of transgenic corn experiments led by Iowa State researchers. All have received federal and state approval. The trials have taken place three times in Iowa and once in Colorado. The research is part of Iowa State's work to evaluate the safe use of plants for the production of proteins for pharmaceuticals and industrial products. Wang engineered the corn to produce LT-B, a protein subunit produced by some strains of E. coli. Research has shown the ability of the protein to stimulate protective immune antibodies. Other Iowa State scientists have been evaluating grain from previous years' studies to understand how the corn-based pharmaceutical can help protect livestock from bacterial infections. The system being developed in corn will work with other proteins. Corn is the preferred plant for producing proteins for non-food products. "It's so easy to manipulate from a breeding perspective, and the pollen can be controlled," Lamkey said. "You can't control the pollen easily in self-pollinating crops like soybeans." "And from a molecular biology and biochemistry point of view, we know so much about corn," Wang said. "Corn seed is such a good reservoir for foreign protein. And the grain, from a pharmacological standpoint, is the grain best tolerated by humans and animals both. Almost nobody is allergic to corn protein." Lamkey said Iowa State is uniquely qualified to pursue this research because of access to germplasm and "not many places have the genetic transformation capabilities that Iowa State has." Lamkey and Wang are considering breeding the transgene into a higher yielding, better seed producing, transformable corn inbred line. "The line that has been used for this corn is really hard to work with in terms of pollination and seed production. It was bred for the purpose of transformation not the field," Lamkey said. "The best part of this project is that finally conventional breeders like me are now working with molecular biologists like Dr. Wang," Lamkey said. "We're trying to get something that's mutually beneficial. This hasn't happened enough in the public sector." Iowa State University | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Biopharmaceutical News Articles UNC study: shape, not just size, impacts effectiveness of emerging nanomedicine therapies In the budding field of nanotechnology, scientists already know that size does matter. But now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that shape matters even more - a finding that could lead to new and more effective methods for treating cancer and other diseases, from diabetes and multiple sclerosis to arthritis and obesity. NIST trumps the clumps: Making biologic drugs safer Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a technique to measure the formation of clumps of proteins in protein-based pharmaceuticals. Phase III pivotal results presented of VYVANSE to treat ADHD in adults Shire plc (LSE: SHP, Nasdaq: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today presented the results of a phase III pivotal study in which VYVANSE demonstrated significant improvements in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms in adults and met all safety and efficacy endpoints. New analysis shows DAYTRANA offered ADHD symptom control for 12 months Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced findings from a new data analysis that was conducted to examine treatment differences with DAYTRAN (methylphenidate transdermal system) between boys and girls aged 6 to 12 years with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Fugitive cancer cells can be blocked by stopping blood cells that aid them Cancer cells get a helping hand from platelets, specialized blood cells involved in clotting. Platelets shelter and feed tumor cells that stray into the bloodstream, making it easier for cancer to spread, or metastasize. Drug Fights Cystic Fibrosis An experimental drug that has proven effective in treating muscular dystrophy also works for cystic fibrosis, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Sirtris unveils promising, novel SIRT1 activators for treating diseases of aging Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRT), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to treat diseases of aging, announced today that findings in the journal Nature demonstrate that Sirtris has developed novel drug candidates that offer a promising, new approach to treating diseases of aging, including Type 2 Diabetes, by targeting SIRT1, a gene that controls the aging process. Nicotine addiction slashed in test of new cigarette smoking strategy Scientists are reporting the first successful strategy to reduce smokers' nicotine dependence while allowing them to continue smoking. The study provides strong support for proposals now being considered in Congress to authorize FDA regulation of cigarette smoking, according to the research team. Scientists ramp up ability of poplar plants to disarm toxic pollutants Scientists since the early '90s have seen the potential for cleaning up contaminated sites by growing plants able to take up nasty groundwater pollutants through their roots. Then the plants break certain kinds of pollutants into harmless byproducts that the plants either incorporate into their roots, stems and leaves or release into the air. Biopharmaceutical infrastructure key to lower drug development costs Improvements to the technology infrastructure for researching and developing new biopharmaceuticals would be expected to save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to a new economic study sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). More Biopharmaceutical News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||