Columbia, Missouri
April 29, 2009
University of Minnesota
researcher helps develop new technique for modifying plant genes
New tool could help provide sustainable food, fuel and fiber
Researchers at the University of Minnesota (U of M) and
Massachusetts General
Hospital have used a genome engineering tool they developed
to make a model crop plant herbicide-resistant without
significant changes to its DNA.
"It's still a GMO [Genetically Modified Organism] but the
modification was subtle," said
Daniel Voytas, lead author and
director of the U of M Center for Genome Engineering. "We made a
slight change in the sequence of the plant's own DNA rather than
adding foreign DNA."
The new approach has the potential to help scientists modify
plants to produce food, fuel and fiber sustainably while
minimizing concerns about genetically modified organisms
For the study, the researchers created a customized enzyme
called a zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) to change single genes in
tobacco plant cells. The altered cells were then cultured to
produce mature plants that survived exposure to herbicides.
The research will be published online by
Nature on April 29.
"This is the first real advance in technology to genetically
modify plants since foreign DNA was introduced into plant
chromosomes in the early 1980s," Voytas said. "It could become a
revolutionary tool for manipulating plant, animal and human
genomes."
Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are engineered enzymes that bind to
specific DNA sequences and introduce modifications at or near
the binding site. The standard way to genetically modify an
organism is to introduce foreign genes into a genome without
knowing where they will be incorporated. The random nature of
the standard method has given rise to concerns about potential
health and environmental hazards of genetically modified
organisms.
Voytas is a co-founder of the
Zinc Finger Consortium, which developed a do-it-yourself
strategy for academic researchers. The consortium is led by
co-author J. Keith Joung, a pathologist at Massachusetts General
Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard University. The
consortium published its method (called Oligomerized Pool
Engineering, or OPEN) in the July 2008 issue of Molecular Cell.
Nature published a perspective feature on OPEN and a commercial
strategy in September 2008.
Voytas' lab used ZFNs created by the OPEN method to modify the
tobacco cells to make them herbicide resistant. According to
Voytas, OPEN ZFNs can be used to improve the nutrition of crop
plants, make plants more amenable to conversion into biofuels,
and help plants adapt to climate change.
"The world is going to turn increasingly to plants to solve lots
of problems. Now we have a new set of tools to help." Voytas
said.
Voytas' next steps will be to apply the technology to
Arabidopsis thaliana, a model plant, and rice, the world's most
important food crop. He is also adapting algae for biofuel
production.
"The technology is ready for prime time," Voytas said. "There is
no scientific reason it can't be applied to crop plants now to
improve agricultural output and practices."
Voytas is a professor in the department of genetics, cell
biology and development, which is a joint department of the
College of Biological Sciences and the Medical School. |
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