Purdue News

Biotech research at Purdue Purdue Agriculture faculty are conducting a wide range or research projects in biotechnology. The following is a representative sample of this research: Vaccines in plants Viral diseases can only be fought with vaccines, which means illnesses such as the common cold caused by many variants of the common cold virus, may be prevented by developing an effective vaccine. Avtar Handa, professor of horticulture, together with Suresh Mittal, assistant professor of molecular virology, are looking at using genetically modified plants to deliver vaccines to animals and humans. The idea is that by increasing the amount of virus-specific antibody (the antiviral compounds in our bodies) in the mouth, nose, throat, lungs and intestine, diseases that commonly are fought by mucosal antibody in these areas will have a tougher time getting past the natural defenses. Fighting cancer Cancer cells have many tricks, but one of the most confounding is that after they absorb anticancer drugs, the cells actually can spew out the drugs before they take effect. To understand how cancer cells do this--and how to block it--scientists need to have a better understanding of how substances pass through cell membranes. Mark Hermodson, head of the Department of Biochemistry, has isolated the genes for the proteins of the cell membranes that are normally found in impossibly small quantities and has used biotechnology to make large enough quantities so that scientists can study them. Genetic basis to behavior Professor Bill Muir of the Department of Animal Science has been able to breed a kinder, gentler chicken using traditional breeding practices. This is big news to the poultry industry, but now he has developed what he calls the Mean, Bad Bird. Muir hopes to use this bird in combination with the kinder bird to isolate the genes that may lead to harmful or aggressive behavior. Because the location of genes is often the same across many species (a concept known as "gene conservation"), these chickens may point to an abnormal behavior genes in humans. Functional Foods It's obvious that certain foods can improve our health, but food scientist Bruce Watkins is looking at boosting certain components of foods to create "functional foods," that improve human health. He's focusing on estrogens and antioxidants produced by plants to reduce cancer and improve bone strength. Stopping fungi in food Many fungi on plants produce toxic substances called mycotoxins. Crops such as peanuts, corn and wheat can be contaminated by mycotoxins before harvesting. These fungi can cause severe diseases in livestock and are suspected as possible carcinogens in the human diet. Charles Woloshuk, professor of botany, has isolated the genes involved in the production of two common mycotoxins, aflatoxin and fumonisin. Woloshuk hopes that plants can soon be bioengineered to inhibit these deadly fungi. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page