|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Suicide Genes
| Article
# : |
20369 |
|
|
Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
|
| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1992 |
2,203 Words |
| Author
: |
Angelo DePalma
Angelo DePalma, a free-lance writer specializing in science
and technology, resides in Newton, New Jersey. |
Back in the late 1970s (the Stone Age of biotechnology), universities and start-up biotechnology firms were getting the word out about the potential benefits of recombinant DNA technology. The public was getting a preview of the power of transferring genes, the basis of inherited characteristics, from one organism to another. Although people were intrigued by the prospect of obtaining limitless quantities of drugs from inexpensive bacteria, social activists and watchdog group warned of possible dangers.
The greatest fear was that genetically manipulated strain of bacteria would multiply out of control and infect humans and animals, and possibly even destroy the world. These fears of a "superbug" created by mad scientists have proven to be unfounded. Nonetheless, some people still get uneasy when scientists propose to deliberately release live, genetically altered bacteria into the environment to clean up oil spills or to prevent crops from freezing or protect them from insects, and similar other situations.
In every case, regulators and the public have been more concerned with preventing genetically altered bacteria from remaining in the environment after their work is done than with the bacteria themselves. The task (called containment or biocontainment) of eradicating or removing bioengineered microorganisms from their release area once their work is done is an important component of any strategy for releasing genetically altered bacteria into the environment. As an environmental problem, biocontainment is analogous to the containment of chemical pesticides and herbicides.
Researchers have discovered a novel solution for containing genetically engineered microorganisms. In addition to programming the bacteria to do such work as eating oil spills and protecting crops, it is possible to program them for automatic self-destruction. This is achieved by inserting two additional genes into the DNA of the bacteria intended for release into the environment. One, called the "killing" gene, produces, on a certain cue, a toxic chemical that kills the microbe; the second, called the "trigger" gene, works like a genetic switch and regulates the action of the killing gene.
Working together, the killing and trigger genes open a new and highly effective approach to bio containment. GX Bio systems ApS (Holte, Denmark), the company that developed this technology, calls the pair of genes "suicide genes."
The trigger gene can be programmed to
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
