An international group of scientists is proposing to generate whole genome sequences for 10,000 vertebrate species using technology that is yet to be invented! The scientists say new genome sequencing protocols, which will allow them to embark on the project, are close to completion and may be available within a year or two. In preparation, they are identifying collaborators who can help assemble a collection of frozen or otherwise suitably preserved tissues or DNA samples from these species.

The idea behind the Genome 10K proposal is to prepare for the third generation of DNA sequencing technology that began with the Humane Genome Project, according to Dr. Scott Baker, from Oregon State University (OSU) in the United States, who edits the Journal of Heredity that will publish the proposal. Whereas that took nearly 10 years at a cost of more than US$3 billion, the goal now is to sequence an entire genome in less than a week, for a cost of less than US$1,000, he said.

Dr. Baker, Associate Director of OSUs Marine Mammal Institute, is one of the more than 50 scientists worldwide who are collaborating on the proposal. He is coordinating the effort to assemble DNA samples for all known species of cetaceans whales, dolphins and porpoises a task made more difficult because the exact number of species keeps changing. As DNA analysis becomes more sophisticated, molecular differences are emerging among some animals thought to belong to the same species.

Another challenge is to obtain samples for rare, endangered and even extinct species, Dr. Baker said. Further, the variety of species identified will present different challenges for genome sequencing. Dr. Baker and his colleagues have been working for two decades on creating DNA barcodes for different cetacean species. The ability to create entire genome sequences would be greatly benefit conservation and basic scientific understanding of species.
Source: www.lifesciencesworld.com

Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, awarded this years Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on ribosomes, said recently that his work has established the medical importance of ribosomes and praised the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council (MRC), the United Kingdom, and the University of Utah, the United States, for supporting his work. He won the Nobel along with Dr. Thomas A. Steitz, the United States, and Dr. Ada E. Yonath, Israel, for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome, an element that translates information contained in the DNA code into life.

MRC said Dr. Ramakrishnans research could lead to the development of better drugs to fight against extreme forms of tuberculosis a disease that kills nearly 1.8 million people every year. Dr. Ramakrishnans basic research on the arrangement of atoms in the ribosome could help scientists to design antibiotics to treat people infected with a bacterium that has developed antibiotic resistance, such as some of the strains of bacteria that cause tuberculosis. Better targeting of the bacterial ribosome should also help to avoid negative effects on human cells thereby reducing the side effects of taking antibiotics, MRC said in a statement.
Source: www.rxpgnews.com

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of Indias Ministry of Environment and Forests has given environmental clearance to Bt brinjal (eggplant or aubergine), the first genetically modified (GM) food crop to be allowed in the country for mass cultivation. The crop now awaits government clearance. If approved by the government, Bt brinjal would become the second crop to be commercially cultivated in the country after Bt cotton, which was approved in 2002. The Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, said the review committees recommendations would be carefully studied before a final decision is taken by the Ministry.

Greenpeace India and other environmental groups had been campaigning against the commercial sale of GM food, and had questioned the bio-safety of such products. The groups had warned the government against taking a hasty decision, citing the need for extensive testing. They also said there was no need of a GM brinjal, as India has a large variety of the indigenously developed vegetable. Brinjal is an important cash crop for more than 1.4 million small and marginal farmers in the country.

The problem in India is compounded with the regulators not enforcing labelling law, which leaves consumers without informed choice with the result that most of them remain ignorant of the fact that they may be buying a GM product. Mahyco, one of the companies seeking approval to sell the Bt technology to local farmers, claims that farmers cultivating brinjal have been suffering due to crop diseases like brinjal fruit and shoot borer (BFSB), which ruins their harvest.
Source: www. agbios.com

The first-ever Phase III trial for a malaria vaccine has officially begun, with more than 5,000 African children already given the first round of malaria vaccine candidate RTS,S, researchers announced at a recent pan-African conference on malaria in Nairobi, Kenya. It is a really historical moment, said Dr. Joe Cohen, Vice President of R&D for Vaccines for Emerging Diseases & HIV at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biologicals and the co-inventor of the vaccine. While the efficacy of RTS,S leaves plenty of room for improvement as it provides only about a 50 per cent reduction in malaria it is the first vaccine candidate for malaria to warrant a Phase III trial.

In Phase II trials, the RTS,S vaccine showed a 53 per cent reduction in clinical malaria episodes for eight months in children 5-17 months old last year. This August, a trial in Mozambique of kids aged 1 to 4 years suggested that the vaccine is able to provide protection for up to 45 months, but at a lower efficacy. The current trial in seven African countries aims to enrol up to 16,000 children in two target age groups: 5 to 17 months and 6 to 12 weeks. The enrolment for the first group is already 5,000 subjects strong, and the enrolment of the younger age group is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks, Dr. Cohen said. If all goes as planned, the first set of data could be ready to submit for regulatory review in 2012.

RTS,S is the leading vaccine candidate in a global effort coordinated by the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI). It specifically targets Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite that causes the overwhelming majority of cases of the disease in Africa. Dr. Ashley Birkett, MVIs Director of Pre-clinical Research and Development, said the organizations long-term goal is a vaccine that is at least 80 per cent effective for at least four years. MVI also aims to develop vaccines against P. vivax, a less severe but more widespread malaria parasite, as well as vaccines that block the transmission of malaria to interrupt the life cycle of the parasite.
Source: www.the-scientist.com

Research into immunity and infection has been given a multi-million pound boost with a major award from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to scientists at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. An internationally recognized team from the School of Medicine, led by Prof. Andy Sewell, will further their world-leading work into T-cells after being awarded 3 million by BBSRC.

The funding will allow Prof. Sewell and his team to examine how individual T-cells recognize huge numbers of foreign antigens (known as cross-reactivity). This cross-reactivity is enabled because the receptor molecule on the T-cell surface is highly promiscuous, and it can recognize many similar molecular shapes. While T-cell receptor promiscuity allows T-cells to control infection, it is also thought to be responsible for the harmful effects that these cells can sometimes cause. Autoimmunity is believed to arise when a receptor that is raised to fight infection is inadvertently promiscuous enough to recognize our own tissues. This promiscuous receptor recognition can also result in allergic reactions and is responsible for bodys immune cells attacking a foreign organ in the first week after it is transplanted. T-cell receptor promiscuity sits at the very heart of most human health. Despite its obvious importance, there has never yet been a proper attempt to examine or assess this promiscuity and the T-cell cross-reactivity it enables. New tools developed by the Cardiff team have finally provided the keys to unlock this study and make this research especially timely, said Prof. Sewell, explaining the need for the research.
Source: www.bbsrc.ac.uk

In Germany, a coalition agreement presented by the new government advocates responsible use of plant biotechnology. Key aspects of the agreement between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) are an endorsement of the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) Amflora starch potatoes, regionally determined minimum distances between fields with GM crops and fields with conventional crops, and positive GM-free labelling at European level. As far as the German cultivation ban on Monsantos MON810 maize is concerned, the coalition intends to await the outcome of the ongoing court case.

The agreement emphasises the coalitions aim to achieve a stronger scientific orientation and more efficient European Union (EU) approval procedures for GM organisms in future. However, it does not state a position on the issue of field trials with GM plants. A large number of biosafety research projects are conducted in the field in order to assess potential effects of GM plants under realistic conditions. However, the Bavarian Environment Minister, Mr. Markus Sder of CSU, spoke out against field trials using GM plants, claiming that the risks to the environment and population were simply too great. The coalition partners want to change the Genetic Engineering Act to allow the federal states to set their own minimum separation distances between fields with GM plants and fields with organic or conventional crops.

The reaction of groups and associations to the agreements has been mixed. Germanys organic food industry association (BLW) has severely criticised the agreements on plant biotechnology contained in the coalition agreement, saying it was unbelievable that a specific product from one company was mentioned in the agreement (GM Amflora potato). Greenpeace sees the agreement as evidence that the interests of corporations clearly come before protection of the environment and people. But, the German Raiffeisen Association, an umbrella organization representing the interests of cooperatives in the German food and agriculture sector, welcomed the agreement for its potential to promote plant biotechnology as an industry of the future.
Source: www.gmo-safety.eu

In India, collaboration between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to promote research on the areas of human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and microbicides have produced some encouraging leads towards the ultimate goal of developing drugs and antibodies for HIV/AIDS. As many as 18 programmes are at present operational, involving scientists from academic and research centres to design HIV antigens, antibodies, drugs and microbicides. Most of these studies, which are under DBT-ICMR collaborative programme launched in 2007, have shown encouraging results, according to DBT sources.

A total of 15 HIV-1 strains and their co-receptor usages have been identified and isolated to carry out neutralization epitope mapping in HIV-1 envelope of Indian origin. It was observed that serum of a chronically infected antiretroviral therapy-nave patient conferred broad neutralization of diverse heterologous envelopes, a DBT official explained.

A study has been initiated to determine genetic variations in the AIDS-modifying genes and compare genetic differences, correlation with rival load, circulatory chemokines and AIDS progression in infected individuals. A novel luciferase-based simple and quick assay system has been developed for evaluating the inhibitory potential of anti-Tat agents and drugs that interfere directly with interactions, the official revealed. In one of the studies, human mannose receptor (hMR) was found localized on human sperm and vaginal epithelial cells, indicating the possible association of hMR with risk of sexual transmission of HIV, he added.
Source: www.pharmabiz.com