Primer on Microbial Genomics cont'd
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Scientists can now identify genes that influence desirable physical features in one organism and transfer them into others. Such genetic engineering results in altered (or recombinant) organisms having a combination of desired traits. Using genetically modified living organisms or their products for commercial purposes is an emerging area in biotechnology.
The Tree of Life
In the Microbial Genome Program, scientists are altering the genome of the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans to increase its potential usefulness in cleaning up toxic-waste sites around the globe. Studies have revealed that the microbe's extraordinary DNA-repair processes enable it to thrive in high-radiation environments. Through the use of biotechnological processes, scientists hope to add genes from other organisms that will confer the ability to degrade toxic chemicals such as toluene, commonly found in mixed, chemical, and radiation waste sites.
Other examples of current and potential applications of genetic engineering follow.
- Production of pharmaceuticals by bacteria that produce human insulin
for diabetics or human growth hormone for individuals with dwarfism.
Scientists are perfecting ways to transfer human genes for important
proteins into cows, sheep, and goats to obtain medically significant
products from the milk of these animals.
- Development of diagnostics to detect disease-causing organisms and
monitor the safety of food and water supplies. Investigators also are
developing systems for identifying pathogens that may someday be used
as biological weapons by rogue nations or even terrorist groups.
- Use of bacteria as living sensors (biosensors) of particular chemicals in soil, air, and water. In some studies, bacteria have been genetically altered to emit a green fluorescent protein visible in ultraviolet light when they metabolize the explosive TNT leaking from land mines. Researchers envision a day when bacteria can be applied to a tract of land with a crop duster and then analyzed from a helicopter.
Next: Microbes and Climate Change
Text from Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Microbial Genome Program Report, February 2000.
