Varun Aysola
Author:
Date of Publication: October 3, 2014
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/health/ebola-tobacco-plant/
Summary:
Over 3,000 people have died in West Africa and many American patients diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus and , and the world is in desperate need of a cure. Two diagnosed American patients have recovered from the disease when treated with the ZMapp drug, however, it is not clear whether or not the drug was the cause of the recovery. Even if it was the cause, the process is very time-consuming and expensive, and an alternate method is preferred. A effective, fast, inexpensive technique is using genetically modified tobacco plants. Some companies implementing this technique include Kentucky BioProcessing, Caliber Therapeutics, Medicago, PlantForm, and University of Louisville's Owensboro Cancer Research Program in Kentucky. All of these are possible contenders for producing the GM tobacco-based Ebola vaccine.
Relevance:
This relates to the Honors Bio curriculum, as the scientists have utilized the tobacco-based drugs. These drugs were made using GM tobacco, which we studied in the molecular genetics unit. Similar to how we inserted an ampicillin resistance gene and a glowing gene to a plasmids in the E.coli in class, the scientists added certain genes to the DNA of a tobacco plant cell to make it contain the desired ingredients. Furthermore, the purpose of the drug was to cure the symptoms of Ebola, which is a virus. We talked briefly about viruses in the molecular genetics unit, when Hershey and Chase used them to observe where the genetic material was contained.
Summary:
Over 3,000 people have died in West Africa and many American patients diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus and , and the world is in desperate need of a cure. Two diagnosed American patients have recovered from the disease when treated with the ZMapp drug, however, it is not clear whether or not the drug was the cause of the recovery. Even if it was the cause, the process is very time-consuming and expensive, and an alternate method is preferred. A effective, fast, inexpensive technique is using genetically modified tobacco plants. Some companies implementing this technique include Kentucky BioProcessing, Caliber Therapeutics, Medicago, PlantForm, and University of Louisville's Owensboro Cancer Research Program in Kentucky. All of these are possible contenders for producing the GM tobacco-based Ebola vaccine.
Relevance:
This relates to the Honors Bio curriculum, as the scientists have utilized the tobacco-based drugs. These drugs were made using GM tobacco, which we studied in the molecular genetics unit. Similar to how we inserted an ampicillin resistance gene and a glowing gene to a plasmids in the E.coli in class, the scientists added certain genes to the DNA of a tobacco plant cell to make it contain the desired ingredients. Furthermore, the purpose of the drug was to cure the symptoms of Ebola, which is a virus. We talked briefly about viruses in the molecular genetics unit, when Hershey and Chase used them to observe where the genetic material was contained.
You did not address how the GMO tobacco would work in the vaccine, and how is it cheaper and less time-consuming than the ZMapp drug? Also, how are scientists certain that the GMO tobacco is what is causing the Ebola symptoms to go away, and not a different ingredient in the vaccine?
ReplyDeleteIn the article it is not clear how the GM tobacco would work in the tobacco: all it says is that it will supply the needed antibodies. The reason it is cheaper and less time-consuming than the ZMapp, whose antibodies were harvested in mice, is that when that a cloned gene is inserted into a virus, and the infected gene is inserted into a tobacco plant, the plant will produce dozens of doses more of the antibodies than a mouse can. Plus, the plants are easy to grow in controlled environments like greenhouses. Again, the article is not clear about how the GM tobacco will cause the symptoms to go away. However, I can infer that the desired gene along with something in the DNA of the tobacco produces antibodies that vanquish Ebola.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete