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Fast new, 1-step genetic engineering technology

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Public release date: 22-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society

A new, streamlined approach to genetic engineering drastically reduces the time and effort needed to insert new genes into bacteria, the workhorses of biotechnology, scientists are reporting. Published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology, the method paves the way for more rapid development of designer microbes for drug development, environmental cleanup and other activities.

Keith Shearwin and colleagues explain that placing, or integrating, a piece of the genetic material DNA into a bacterium's genome is critical for making designer bacteria. That DNA can give microbes the ability to churn out ingredients for medication, for instance, or substances that break down oil after a big spill. But current genetic engineering methods are time-consuming and involve many steps. The approaches have other limitations as well. To address those drawbacks, the researchers sought to develop a new, one-step genetic engineering technology, which they named "clonetegration," a reference to clones or copies of genes or DNA fragments.

They describe development and successful laboratory tests of clonetegration in E. coli and Salmonella typhimurium bacteria, which are used in biotechnology. The method is quick, efficient and easy to do and can integrate multiple genes at the same time. They predict that clonetegration "will become a valuable technique facilitating genetic engineering with difficult-to-clone sequences and rapid construction of synthetic biological systems."

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The authors acknowledge funding from the China Scholarship Council, the National Science Foundation Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, the Human Frontier Science Program, the Australian Research Council and a William H. Elliott Biochemistry Fellowship.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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Fast new, 1-step genetic engineering technology

Fast new, one-step genetic engineering technology

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May 22, 2013 A new, streamlined approach to genetic engineering drastically reduces the time and effort needed to insert new genes into bacteria, the workhorses of biotechnology, scientists are reporting. Published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology, the method paves the way for more rapid development of designer microbes for drug development, environmental cleanup and other activities.

Keith Shearwin and colleagues explain that placing, or integrating, a piece of the genetic material DNA into a bacterium's genome is critical for making designer bacteria. That DNA can give microbes the ability to churn out ingredients for medication, for instance, or substances that break down oil after a big spill. But current genetic engineering methods are time-consuming and involve many steps. The approaches have other limitations as well. To address those drawbacks, the researchers sought to develop a new, one-step genetic engineering technology, which they named "clonetegration," a reference to clones or copies of genes or DNA fragments.

They describe development and successful laboratory tests of clonetegration in E. coli and Salmonella typhimurium bacteria, which are used in biotechnology. The method is quick, efficient and easy to do and can integrate multiple genes at the same time. They predict that clonetegration "will become a valuable technique facilitating genetic engineering with difficult-to-clone sequences and rapid construction of synthetic biological systems."

The authors acknowledge funding from the China Scholarship Council, the National Science Foundation Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, the Human Frontier Science Program, the Australian Research Council and a William H. Elliott Biochemistry Fellowship.

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Fast new, one-step genetic engineering technology

Modded Minecraft S4E16: Sniffling, sneezing, storage, and genetic engineering – Video

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Modded Minecraft S4E16: Sniffling, sneezing, storage, and genetic engineering
Wherein I park my ass in front of the computer long enough to record something for my peeps, we address the problem of our quickly-filling storage by buildin...

By: nightdagger

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Modded Minecraft S4E16: Sniffling, sneezing, storage, and genetic engineering - Video

EarthTalk / Efforts to regulate genetic engineering of crops sacked

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Dear EarthTalk: What is the Monsanto Protection Act and why are environmentalists so upset about it?

Rita Redstone

Milwaukee, Wisc.

The so-called Monsanto Protection Act is actually a provision (officially known as Section 735) within a recently passed Congressional spending bill, H.R. 933, which exempts biotech companies from litigation regarding the making, selling and distribution of genetically engineered seeds and plants.

President Barack Obama signed the bill and its controversial rider into law in March, much to the dismay of environmentalists. It means that Monsanto and other companies that supply the majority of the nation's crop seeds can continue to produce genetically engineered products regardless of any potential court orders stating otherwise. Opponents of genetically engineered foods believe that giving such companies a free reign over the production of such potentially dangerous organisms regardless of judicial challenge is a bad idea -- especially given how little we still know about the biological and ecological implications of widespread use of genetically engineered crops.

Today, more than 90 percent of the corn, soybeans, cotton, sugar beets and canola planted in the U.S. is derived from seeds genetically engineered by Monsanto and other companies to resist pests and thus increase yields. Aviva Shen of the ThinkProgress blog reports that, instead of reducing farmers' use of toxic pesticides and herbicides, genetically engineered seeds are having the opposite effect in what has become a race to keep faster and faster developing "superweeds" and "superbugs" at bay. With Congress and the White House refusing to regulate genetically engineered crops, the court system has remained a last line of defense for those fighting the widespread adoption of genetic engineering -- until now, that is, thanks to H.R. 933.

Monsanto isn't the only seed company heavily into genetic engineering, but it is the biggest and most well-known and spends millions of dollars each year on lobbyists to keep it that way. Critics point out that the company has spent decades stacking government agencies with its executives and directors. "Monsanto's board members have worked for the EPA, advised the U.S. Department of Agriculture and served on President Obama's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations," reports the group Food & Water Watch. "The prevalence of Monsanto's directors in these highly influential positions begs a closer look at how they're able to push the pro-genetically engineered agenda within the government and influence public opinion."

"The judicial review process is an essential element of U.S law and serves as a vital check on any Federal Agency decision that may negatively impact human health, the environment or livelihoods," reports Food Democracy Now! "Yet this provision seeks an end-run around such judicial review by preemptively deciding that industry can set its own conditions to continue to sell biotech seeds, even if a court may find them to have been wrongfully approved."

Another concern of safe food advocates now is getting the government to require food makers to list genetically engineered ingredients clearly on product labels so consumers can make informed choices accordingly. "Not only is (genetically engineered) labeling a reasonable and common sense solution to the continued controversy that corporations like Monsanto, DuPont and Dow Chemical have created by subverting our basic democratic rights," adds Food Democracy Now!, "but it is a basic right that citizens in 62 other countries around the world already enjoy, including Europe, Russia, China, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia."

CONTACTS: ThinkProgress, http://www.thinkprogress.org; Food & Water Watch, http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org; Food Democracy Now!, http://www.fooddemocracynow.org.

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EarthTalk / Efforts to regulate genetic engineering of crops sacked

Examples Of Genetic Engineering: Bizarre Yet Beneficial Uses Of Modern Biotech

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April 29, 2013

Rayshell Clapper for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

After learning about human genetic engineering, many readers might want to find out about some examples of genetic engineering. Both bizarre and beneficial, the following article highlights some truly fascinating and pragmatic examples of modern genetic engineering.

The Biotechnology Forums, a website for professionals and students in biotechnology (the area that studies genetic engineering) recently explained some of these examples. The first animal example of genetic engineering is the spider goat. Yes, you read that correctly. A spider goat is able to produce the strong, stretchable silk used by spiders to create their webs. This silk web is one of the strongest natural materials known to man, stronger even than steel.

Nexia Biotechnologies Company inserted the gene from a golden orb-weaver spider into the genome of goat in such a way that the goat secretes the protein of the spider web in its milk. The milk was then used to create a what Nexia called (and trademarked) BioSteel, a material with characteristics similar to spider webs.

Beyond goats capable of secreting spider webs in their milk, there are a number of other really cool examples of genetic engineering in animals. In one redOrbit blog, this author reported about a cat that glows in the dark. The glow-in-the-dark feline has a fluorescence gene that makes it glow under an ultraviolet light. As the Biotechnology Forum outlines, here is how South Korean scientists first created the glowing cat in 2007:

They took skin cells from Turkish Angora female cat (species that were originally tamed by Tatars, but was later transferred to Turkey and is now considered the countrys national treasure), and using the virus they inserted the genetic code for the production of red fluorescent protein. Then they put genetically modified nuclei into eggs for cloning and such cloned embryos are returned to the donor cat. It thus became the surrogate mothers own clones.

And why make a cat that glows in the dark? The researchers explained that this was no frivolous experiment and that potential benefits exist in medicine for treating and testing for human diseases caused by genetic disorders. And just today, researchers in Uruguay announced that they had successfully created a genetically modified glowing sheep. Though not directly applicable to medical technology, the researchers had this to say about the purpose of their research: Our focus is generating knowledge, make it public so the scientific community can be informed and help in the long run march to generate tools so humans can live better, but were not out in the market to sell technology.

Moving on, two other good example are the less-flatulent cow and the so-called Ecopig. As Mother Nature Network explains, cows produce a lot of methane gas, which is second only to carbon dioxide in contributing to the greenhouse effect. So scientists at the University of Alberta identified the bacteria responsible for producing methane and designed a breed of cows that create 25 percent less methane than the average cow. This is one genetic engineering example that directly and practically addresses one of the major problems facing modern man.

The Ecopig (aka enviropig or Frankenswine) is yet another of the many examples of genetic engineering that positively contribute to the environment. The Ecopig has been genetically altered to better digest and process phosphorus. The reason is that pig dung is high in phytate, a form of phosphorous that farmers use it as fertilizer but which over stimulates the growth of algae which can deplete oxygen in the watersheds and thus kill marine life. The Ecopig has been genetically modified by adding E. Coli and mouse DNA to the pig embryo, which reduce the pigs phosphorous output by about 70 percent.

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Examples Of Genetic Engineering: Bizarre Yet Beneficial Uses Of Modern Biotech


  1. Genetic Engineering