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Australasian Biotechnology, Vol. 10 No. 3, 2000, pp. 4-13 News
Code Number: au00028 CSIRO LIVESTOCK RESEARCH REORGANISED“There will be a revitalisation of rural and regional laboratories at Armidale (NSW), Rockhampton, and Geelong, and integrated leadership of all livestock research through the formation of a new Division,” said Dr Colin Adam, Acting Chief Executive of CSIRO. The new Division will comprise the existing divisions of Animal Health, Animal Production and livestock-related research within the Division of Tropical Agriculture.”Our review group took a strategic perspective for the next 20 years of the facilities CSIRO would need for its research plans to meet future industry needs. We wanted to avoid any narrow short-term focus”, said John Blood, who headed the industry review group. The Review Group, which consulted extensively with industry, identified biotechnology as being of crucial importance to the future of Australian livestock sector. It found the Institute for Molecular Biosciences in Brisbane was an ideal location for all CSIRO’s research in this field. This facility, which is being developed by CSIRO and the University of Queensland at its St Lucia campus in Brisbane, will represent a significant proportion of the national biotechnology effort. The expanded Institute will cover all major livestock species. It is the largest facility of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world. CSIRO has accepted this recommendation and will move its biotechnology group from the Division of Animal Production’s Prospect (Western Sydney) facility to Brisbane. This means that the Prospect laboratory will become under-utilised, and so the review group has recommended its closure and the relocation of staff to other sites. All staff at Prospect will be offered positions at other locations of the new Division and attractive relocation packages will be developed to encourage staff to relocate,” he says. The internationally renowned McMaster parasitology laboratory will be relocated from Prospect to CSIRO’s Chiswick facility near Armidale. Other staff will move to strengthen CSIRO’s livestock nutrition research group in Perth, WA.In Geelong, animal welfare research and pig research will be reinforced with the move of staff from Prospect. The review group recommends augmenting CSIRO’s Rendel laboratory in Rockhampton to meet the needs of the beef industry and the Belmont field station nearby. “We accept this proposal and intend to develop an Australian Tropical Beef Research Centre through collaboration with the University of Central Queensland and increased industry funding,” Dr Adam says. We will move a livestock systems research group from Brisbane to Rockhampton to form the nucleus of the new Centre. BIOTECH STRATEGY DUE NEXT MONTH The Federal Government’s long-awaited Biotechnology Strategy is expected to be announced by the Minister for Industry, Science and Resources at the forthcoming conference of the Australian Biotechnology Association, to be held in Brisbane from July 2- 6. The Strategy was initially expected to be announced with the Budget in May, when funding of $30.5 million was allocated for its implementation. Indications are that $20 million of this will fund a new research commercialisation program, with smaller amounts allocated to expanding Biotechnology Australia’s public awareness program, and support for the proposed National Biotechnology Network. ARC AND RDC’S PLAN JOINT RESEARCH FUNDINGThe Australian Research Council and the Rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) have jointly released a report based on two national strategic workshops held in April and July last year on the future of agricultural biotechnology in Australia. The key recommendation of the workshops was that an alliance be formed between the ARC and the RDCs in the area of genomics and gene technology. Specific recommendations to support this objective were:
ARC Chair, Professor Vicki Sara, said discussions were under way between the ARC and the RDCs about how a joint research support scheme might operate, although it would be a couple of months before any final decisions could be expected. STUDY COUNTERS GENE ‘LEAKAGE’ CLAIMSResearch undertaken at the University of Western Australia over the past three years has demonstrated that effective flow of the herbicide-resistant gene from genetically modified canola to wild radish, a close relative of canola, does not appear to occur under natural conditions. The work, conducted by Professor Stephen Powles, Dr Mary Rieger and others, was initiated as a major project of the CRC for Weed Management Systems. Professor Powles said that while the research did not prove that transfer of herbicide resistance from GM canola cannot occur, it did show it was a very rare event. “Those who argue the GM crops will mean superweeds will need to justify the statement because we simply did not find any evidence for this. Those who support GM crops must acknowledge that in some cases gene flow may occur. It is important that we have these facts so that informed decision-making can be made,” he said. In a further stage of the work, Professor Powles and his team are planning to undertake a large study to examine the potential for gene flow between adjacent canola crops. The work will be conducted this year at a number of sites in Western Australia by crop consultant Michael Lamond and Professor Powles. They will examine the potential for a gene giving herbicide resistance in canola to flow to adjacent canola paddocks. A two-year study will provide definitive answers to the question: can genes readily flow from one canola crop to another and what can be done to minimise the possibility of this occurring? Since GM crops will not be commercially grown in WA for at least another two years, the evidence will be available before a decision is made as to whether GM canola should be grown in WA. RESEARCH ADDS KNOW-HOW TO BEER BREWBetter beer could result from University of Southern Queensland research into how to keep the fermentation process ticking over once oxygen runs out during brewing. “Stuck” fermentation is just one problem confronting USQ scientist Dr Robert Learmonth who is working with Carlton & United Breweries to improve beer quality and consistency. By studying how brewer’s yeast adapts to a sequence of environmental changes, Dr Learmonth hopes to understand what cells need to keep going when starved of oxygen. “After the brew is sealed up in a drum, the fermentation process eventually runs out of oxygen and sometimes stops, so the whole batch has to be thrown out,” he said. “If I can stop that and speed up the primary and secondary phases of fermentation, it could lift production capacity, decrease costs and help maintain consistent beer quality.” He has also pioneered the use of fluorescence dyes in reporting microbial cell activity. “The dye localises in the cell membrane and changes colour depending on what is happening in the cell,” Dr Learmonth said. Describing it as “platform technology”, he said fluorescence markers could halve the time it takes to find fermentation capacity and be used in a range of commercial processes. “We want to change it from a ‘hey, look at this’, one-off test to a technique that can be used in any number of systems such as waste water treatment, antibiotic production or any other microbial products.” The three-year project will look at each stage of the fermentation process, firstly under laboratory conditions of known chemical composition, then looking at how the addition of different sugars affect its progress, finally moving to the full complexity of the brew mix used in commercial brewing. CONSUMERS AFTER MORE BALANCED INFORMATIONAustralian consumers are seeking more balanced and factual information on genetically modified foods and don’t rate genetically modified foods as their highest concern, a public attitude survey has revealed.The survey, commissioned by the government organisation, Biotechnology Australia, found high consumer concerns across many food issues, with the highest concerns relating to food poisoning, pesticides and human tampering of foods. The survey was conducted by Quantum Market Research, and asked 700 Australians nationwide to rate their concerns about food issues. “Concerns over pesticide use in foods were considerably higher than concerns over genetically modified foods,” said Patricia Kelly, the Head of Biotechnology Australia. “The survey also asked what people who were concerned about genetically modified foods would do to address their concerns. Thirty-two per cent of respondents said they would look to the Internet while another 32 per cent said they would call a 1800 number for more information. “This is consistent with previous studies we have undertaken, showing there is a high consumer demand for information to enable them to make their own informed decisions about the technology.” According to the survey, consumers ranked the issues of concern as follows: food poisoning - 72 per cent concerned; pesticide use - 68 per cent, human tampering of foods in the manufacturing process - 65 per cent, and genetically modified foods - 58 per cent. “The survey details what the public is really thinking, and shows not only where concerns about genetically modified foods lie in relation to other food concerns, but shows that consumers are very interested in obtaining balanced information to address their concerns,” Ms Kelly said. The telephone survey was conducted nationally in February and March, with a representative sample of 702 respondents from all States and Territories with a standard variation of ±1.29%. Further information: Patricia Kelly, Biotechnology Australia. Tel: (02) 6213 7170. Legionella Outbreaks Preventable with testing US officials in Portland, Maine have announced the availability of a new rapid water test for Legionella. The announcement follows reports of the Victorian outbreak in Australia which claimed the lives of at least two people and left 67 ill. Binax, a Portland-based biotech company, manufactures a new rapid test for the detection of Legionella in water. The test, called Equate, is inexpensive and will give a result in just an hour. Other tests on the market take up to two weeks to provide results. It is important for facilities with cooling towers, air condition systems, whirlpool baths, vegetable misters or hot water systems to test for the presence of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1. Joe Kelly, business unit manager, explains, “The Equate test was developed to help prevent situations such as the outbreak in Australia. Recent reports have indicated that authorities there have relied on tests which show a total bacterial count. When it comes to Legionella, that’s meaningless because total bacterial counts don’t indicate high or low levels of the Legionella bacteria. You can have low total bacterial counts and very high Legionella counts. Conversely, you can have high total bacterial counts and low Legionella counts and not know the difference unless you specifically test for Legionella.” Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 is a virulent bacterium known to cause up to 90% of all reported cases of Legionnaires’ Disease. The ubiquitous bacteria can be found in rivers and streams and poses a health hazard to humans when it has ideal conditions for growth and is breathed in through tiny water droplets by people, especially those with weakened immune systems. While the disease is deadly and can be successfully treated with antibiotics only if caught early enough, Legionnaires’ Disease is entirely preventable. Facilities including hospitals, schools, hotels, grocery stores and other public places with any kind of hot water system should be especially diligent about testing. Contaminated water can be treated before outbreaks occur, thus saving lives. Further information: http://www.binax.com/ FERMENTATION PROCESS FOR RIBOSE SUGARRibose is a natural sugar which can rapidly improve adenine nucleotide levels in skeletal and heart muscle cells after an ischaemic heart attack. A biotech company in the United States has contrived a cheap process to produce this expensive sugar. Bioenergy, based in Minneapolis has developed a fermentation-based biotech process for bulk production of ribose sugar. Ribose sugar can now be used as a new nutraceutical product in human diets. Bioenergy has appointed Glucona as its exclusive representative for marketing, sales and distribution of its nutraceutical ribose in Europe and Asia. Chemical Weekly, 9, November 1999 NEW APPROACHES TO DRUG REGISTRATIONAs advances in the area of genetic research gain pace, a review article published in The Lancet (April 15, Volume 355, Number 9212) calls for a new approach in the development and registration of new medicines. The article, entitled Pharmacogenetics and the Future of Drug Development and Delivery by Dr Allen Roses, Worldwide Director of Genetics of Glaxo Wellcome, predicts significant changes to the way medicines are prescribed and developed over the next few years. As the fruits of genetic research begin to be applied to the development of new medicines, Dr Roses calls for industry and regulatory authorities to work together to review current procedures in order to allow these technological advances to be maximised for the benefit of patients. Based on an individual’s genetic profile which is assessed against a ‘medicine response profile’, a physician, using new techniques in pharmacogenetics, will be able to predict which patients are likely to benefit from a given medicine. The article reviews current methods for registering new medicines, which require lengthy evaluation in clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy profile. These trials can involve several thousand patients, take up to 7 years to complete and are very costly. If, through pharmacogenetics, those patients who are likely to respond are identified early in development (during phase II clinical trials) then, by only enrolling patients with a ‘responder’ genetic profile, the traditional large phase III studies could be made much more efficient. Not only would this reduce the need to recruit a large number of patients and reduce the cost of drug development, it would also remove the need to recruit patients into clinical trials who would only be participating (although unknowingly to all parties) for the purpose of detecting adverse events. Dr Roses goes on to describe how new medicines developed in this way could potentially be made available to patients earlier than normal, by being approved for use specifically in the ‘responder’ population. This could significantly reduce the time it would take to bring a medicine to market allowing patients that would truly benefit from treatment much earlier access to beneficial, or even potentially life-saving medicines. AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL INAUGURAL STRATEGIC PLAN“The launch of the Australian Research Council’s inaugural Strategic Plan is an important step in implementing the Government’s new framework for research and research training outlined in its policy statement Knowledge and Innovation,” the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs Dr David Kemp said recently. The Plan outlines the ARC’s mission -to advance Australia’s capacity for quality research to the economic, social and cultural benefit of the community - and its key areas of activity over the coming three years:
A Bay Area biotech company and a supercomputing team, staking the largest claim yet in the gene-commerce land rush, announced Monday that they have completed the first large-scale analysis of the known human genome. They will sell the data to anyone with a Web browser and a credit card. The news by DoubleTwist Inc., of Oakland, and Sun Microsystems Inc., of Palo Alto, represents a marriage announcement of two hot technology trends: e-commerce and genome research. Their merged technologies will allow scientists to make point-and-click purchases of information about a gene. The development presages the day when consumers might take a CD-ROM with a laboratory’s rendering of their own genetic profiles and use it to surf gene libraries to determine their predisposition to disease. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/top/docs/genes050900.htm DoubleTwist™ Spins The Business Of Genomic Databases http://www.biospace.com/news_story.cfm?StoryID=2843604 EUROPE SAYS YES TO BIOTECHEuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries, welcomed the recent vote by the European Parliament of the Revision of EU-Directive 90-220 on the deliberate release of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into the environment. Although the vote on the numerous articles and amendments deserves some scrutiny, EuropaBio sees its balanced outcome as an important step towards the creation of a regulatory framework for GMOs, which provides clarity, predictability and certainty. It will hopefully help to end the deadlock in which the plant biotechnology industry has found itself for far too long. To read the full release go to http://www.europa-bio.be/ AAS/DISR INTERNATIONAL GRANTSInformation and application forms are available from the website (www.science.org.au/internat). These grants are for international collaboration in scientific research and are available in the following categories:
See the website for details. JAPANESE MILLENNIUM PROJECTOn 19 December, 1999, the then Japanese Prime Minister, Keizo Obuchi decided to allocate a total of 120.6 billion yen to the Millennium Project, a joint industry-government-academia effort to promote new industries for the initial project year 2000 ending March 31, 2001. Biotechnology projects will account for more than half of the budget, or 64 billion yen. In response to the announcement of the project, the Japan Association of Bioindustries Executives (JABEX) issued a statement in which the association highly praised the Prime Minister’s decision and hoped that the initiative paves a way toward a nation with a solid industrial biotechnology base. At a time when Japan moves into a new millennium, the project will encourage joint efforts among industry, government and academia to develop new technologies in three key areas corresponding to information networking, ageing society and environment protection, all of which require urgent action to ensure a brighter future. The project was proposed last July by the late Prime Minister and will be financed from the special budget reserved for the economic rebirth initiative. The feature of the project is its focus on genome and ageing society. The human genome analysis project, to be conducted under the umbrella of the Ageing Society, plans to analyse frequently expressed 30,000 out of 100,000 human genes by 2001. On the basis of the results from the genome analysis, the project will start developing by 2004 innovative tailor-made therapies and new drugs to treat such diseases as dementia, cancer, diabetes and hypertension that are characteristic of senior citizens. As the knowledge about the developmental process of living organisms expands, the project also aims to establish regenerative medicine based on self-regenerating bones and blood vessels that are free from rejection problems. Research will also be conducted on analysis of the rice genome also under the umbrella of the Ageing Society. A total of 64 billion yen has been allocated for FY 2000 for the human and rice genome projects. Other non-biotechnological projects are on information networking and on environmental protection. FRENCH SCHOLARSHIPSApplications are being invited for French Government Scientific Fellowships 2001. They are of 3-6 months duration and must be taken up between March and December 2001. Applicants must be between 25 and 40 years old and be Australian citizens. More information can be obtained from the French Embassy in Canberra - contact Jeanine Mordek by email jmordek@france.net.au. Application forms are on their website (www.france.net.au). Applications close 15 August 2000. Bon chance! MONSANTO EMAIL DISCUSSIONMonsanto announced recently the commencement of a Biotechnology Outreach list server to provide regular news on food biotechnology. Subscribe to the list (free) by sending an email to biotechoutreach@monsantolist.com with “subscribe” in the subject bar and your email address in the body of the message. HERBAL TECH PARKSouthern Cross University is establishing a 72-hectare technology park, called the Cellulose Valley Technology Park, which will have a particular focus on natural plant products. The University has research strength in plant genetics, phytochemistry and the application of plant products for medicinal uses, and is aiming to establish the Technology Park as a global centre in the field of natural plant products. The site is currently under development, with a number of tenants already occupying offices on the site, including Australian Organic Herbgrowers, Mediherb, Permaculture International, Gardner Herbs Australia and Permadrive International, a company which is researching ways of storing kinetic energy in vehicles. Professor Peter Baverstock, Dean of the Graduate Research College, said that the first major building to be developed at Cellulose Valley Technology Park would be an Innovation Centre, due to be completed by the end of this year, which would include an incubator and would provide services to businesses wishing to develop and innovate their products and services. Some of these services include networking, research, and assistance in obtaining government grants. The Technology Park was visited in April by the NSW Innovation Council and this month by a delegation of venture capitalists, business angels and financiers organised by State and Regional Develop and led by the Minister for Regional Development, Harry Woods. Further information is on the Internet at www.cellulosevalley.com NEW NHMRC APPOINTMENTSFive key appointments - the Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Chairs of its four Principal Committees - were announced by the Health Minister, Dr Michael Wooldridge, last month. Professor Nicholas Saunders, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University, will take over from Dr Richard Larkins as Chair of the Council. Professor Saunders was a member of the Council from 1994 - 1996 and a member of the Medical Research Committee from 1998 - 1990. Professor Adele Green is the new Chair of the Health Advisory Committee (HAC). Professor Green is Deputy Director of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and head of its Epidemiology Unit. Professor Green, served as a member of the Medical Research Committee of Council in 1991-1993 and 1994-1996, and participated in Grants committees during 1991-1993. Dr Kerry Breen is the new Chair of the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC). Dr Breen is Chair of the Division of Medicine, as well as Medical Service Director of the Special Medicine Service, at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne. He is President of the Australian Medical Council and the Victorian Medical Practitioner’s Board and has served as a member of AHEC (1997-1999). Dr Breen was a member of the Strategic Research Development Committee over the 1997-1999 triennium. Dr Jack Best has been reappointed as Chair of the Strategic Research Development Committee (SRDC). Professor Warwick Anderson returns as Chair of the Research Committee (RC), for an interim period while the Chief Executive Officer is recruited, and it is likely that the the two roles will be combined. FAWCETT TURNED OFFBiotech International’s Chairman, David Fawcett, has quit his 8 per cent shareholding in Biotech International following Peptech’s unsuccessful bid to secure control of the company. Mr Fawcett has been a strong supporter of Peptech’s bid for control of Biotech. Mr Fawcett also stepped down from the Board after selling his shareholding for an estimated $3.5 million. Singapore businessman, Ravindran Govindan, has been appointed Chairman of Biotech International. SA INQUIRYThe South Australian Parliament is to conduct an inquiry into the impact of biotechnology on health and food production in the State. The Social Development Committee of the Parliament will initially investigate the effects on health. Submissions have been called for and can be emailed to the Committee Secretariat, Robyn Schutte, at sdc@parliament.sa.gov.au Notices of intention to make a submission or to provide oral evidence are required by 28 July. For more information, tel (08) 8237 9416. BRESAGEN FUNDSAdelaide-based biotechnology company, Bresagen, has received additional funding from the US for its research into genetic use of pigs for organ donation. The company’s cloning and gene knock-out technology is used in the area of xenotransplantation which provides transplant organs for humans from animals. Bresagen signed the funding agreement with US company, Baxter Healthcare and Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital. MATILDA: AUSTRALIA’S FIRST CLONED MERINOSouth Australian scientists have produced Australia’s first cloned merino sheep named ‘Matilda’, using technology that could help the nation’s struggling wool industry get back on its feet. The collaborative research project has involved scientists from the South Australian Research and Development Institute and the University of Adelaide with funding through the CRC for Premium Quality Wool. SARDI Director Mr Rob Lewis said the technology (somatic cell cloning) was based on similar work to that used to produce ‘Dolly’ at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. A cell containing DNA (genetic material) was taken from a donor sheep and inserted into an egg from which the original DNA had been removed. Once in the egg, the introduced DNA behaved like the DNA of a newly developed egg, growing as a normal embryo, which was then implanted into a host ewe where it developed normally. Mr Lewis said a number of cloned embryos had been implanted as part of the project and ‘Matilda’, who was delivered by caesarean section in April, was the first live birth. “The birth of Matilda demonstrates the viability of the technology. Potentially, cloning will allow the industry to leapfrog time constraints, speeding up the rate of improvement in wool fineness and strength - the traits most favoured on international markets,” he said. Mr Lewis said the Australian wool industry has been in a parlous state with the production of less marketable lines of wool exceeding demand. There is more competition from other fibres hitting international markets hard. Fine wool under 19 micron had been attracting good premiums relative to medium Merino wool in the 21 to 23 micron range. “This research opens up the potential to move medium micron flocks quickly into fine wool categories,” Mr Lewis said. The current rate of genetic improvement in the industry is about 0.5% but cloning could make it possible to lift this to 5% a year - worth around $300 million over 10 years in SA.” The cloning research conducted at SARDI is an integral part of the CRC for Premium Quality Wool’s cheep research program. SARDI scientists, Dr Teija Peura and Dr Simon Walker, who helped produce the Matilda clone, say it will be some time before the technology is commercially viable. More trials are necessary and Matilda will have to be observed closely. “Now that we have proof of concept, we can start the next phase of research-to study how clones perform and how any of their offspring perform,” they said. NEW ENTRANT IN RACE TO SEQUENCE THE HUMAN GENOMEGenome ‘dark horse’ comes to the fore A ‘dark horse’ private company in the US is claiming to have taken a major lead on its rivals in the race to produce a complete gene map of humans. At the same time, publicly-funded scientists in Germany and Japan have passed another milestone in decoding human chromosome 21. The private company, DoubleTwist, is a relative newcomer in the genome race but claims to have completed the first large-scale computational analysis of the human genome. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_741000/741022.stm Biotech industry chalks up a rare victory in Europe http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e6554045 Financial Times MEPs reject GM food liability http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e6556933 The Times Commissioner Wallström welcomes EP endorsement of stricter and more transparent EU rules for GMOs http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e6554833 CHINABiotechnology is booming in China, and its development across all applications has a very high Chinese Government priority. The BIA has already taken a mission to China, and has hosted a return mission to the UK by senior Chinese business and academic figures. China is staging a High Tech Fair, including a biotechnology segment, in Shenzhen from October 11-16 2000. The BIA will not be taking an official part in this event, but anyone interested can find out more from Paul Wusteman, First Secretary, Science and Technology, at the British Embassy, Beijing. Tel: +86 10 6532 1961 or fax +86 10 6532 1937 GENE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES NEED SUPPORTSA legislators will need to provide clear guidelines about acceptable gene technology, State parliamentarians were told at a CSIRO Science Briefing in Adelaide today. New biotechnology industries will not invest where gene technology is not supported, according to CSIRO Molecular Science chief, Dr Annabelle Duncan. “There is a lot of infrastructure and capital needed to scale up these technologies from laboratory scale to a level where companies are prepared to take them on,” Dr Duncan says. “There is high consumer acceptance for use of gene technology in pharmaceutical and biomedical industries, according to Dr Edwina Cornish, Professor of Biotechnology and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Adelaide. Dr Cornish told the Briefing that agriculture is critically important to SA’s future and the State needs to foster a more entrepreneurial culture to grow the biotechnology industry. “We have already achieved some major successes in gene technology,” she says. “Researchers at Adelaide University’s Waite campus are leading the way in key areas of plant biotechnology, and companies such as Bresagen are further evidence of the wealth of talent we have in this State. CSIRO Plant Industry chief, Dr Jim Peacock, told the parliamentarians that public research institutions like the CSIRO need to continue gene technology research to develop valuable intellectual property (IP). “The science of gene technology offers tremendous benefits but it operates within a complex business system,” Dr Peacock says. “If we cannot access the IP we need, we become limited in our ability to help farmers and the community. “A strong research base will allow us to develop crucial IP of our own, giving us strength in trading relationships and control over our food supply. “We need to ensure Australia remains a leader in this technology, ultimately gaining the best deal for Australia and the Australian community,” he says. Gene technology presents an opportunity to improve crop efficiency, profitability and sustainability. But GMOs have applications beyond food production and can be used to produce chemicals to replace petrochemical feedstock, and make insulin and blood products. NEW RESEARCH LEADS TO POTATO RESISTANT STARCH New work by Steve Jobling and his colleagues at Unilever at Sharnbrook, UK and at the National Chemical and Starch Company in New Jersey, USA, on the production of high amylose starch by genetic modification of potatoes is described in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology 18 (5): 551-4 (May 2000). Abstract of the paper is reproduced below: Production of very-high-amylose potato starch by inhibition of SBE A and B Gerhard P. Schwall, Richard Sefford, Roger J. Westcott, Roger Jeffcoat, Akash Tayal, Yong-Cheng Shi, Michael J. Gidley, and Stephen A. Jobling
US COMPANY SECURES QLD BIOTECH DISCOVERY The patent for a Queensland biotechnology discovery - which makes possible efficient and effective detection of genetic diseases and traits- has been sold to a major US company in a deal worth millions of dollars. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie announced the agreement on Wednesday, May 3, 2000 at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. Mr Beattie said the technology - which is known as First Nucleotide Change (FNC) - would have significant impact on the health of humans through better disease diagnosis and drug development, as well as on animal and plant breeding. FNC can be used as a single test - for example, diagnosis of a particular genetic disease in an individual - to screen for one genetic disease in many individuals. It can also be used to analyse large numbers (up to thousands) of gene variations in an individual. The international patent for the technology had previously been controlled by the Cooperative Research Centre for Diagnostic Technologies, which is based at the QUT where the discovery was made. This technology enables the quick detection of gene mutations or gene sequence variations which are indicators of particular genetic diseases or traits. Its buyer is Affymetrix Inc, a US biotechnology industry leader based in Santa Clara, California. Affymetric developed and markets GeneChip technology which facilitates the analysis of thousands of gene sequences in a single test. The GeneChip microarray system presents up to 250,000 different identified gene sequences on a square centimetre glass slide, and seeks “barcode” matches for these sequences in DNA samples being tested. The Affymetrix partnership will make the FNC technology available on a global scale,” Mr Beattie said. The QUT scientists responsible for the discovery are Professor James Dale, the project leader, Associate Professor Peter Timms and Dr Terry Walsh. Professor Dale said that, combined with the QUT technology, the Affymetrix GeneChip array would become an incredibly powerful tool for identifying and analysing critical gene sequences in DNA samples. While the precise financial terms of the sale were not disclosed, Affymetrix Vice-President of Corporate Development Dr Robert Lipshutz said the company would evaluate the technology for future commercial uses.
Notes from Professor James Dale, Scientific Director - FNC Project & QUT Faculty of Science Director of Research. Copyright 2000 - Australasian Biotechnology |
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