A British company, Axis Genetics commissioned ag-Tec, to grow potatoes containing hepatitis B vaccine. The first clinical trials are to start this year. During the trials, human volunteers will consume small pieces of raw potato, genetically engineered to produce hepatitis B antigens.
The antigens work by stimulating human immune system to resist infection. Besides hepatitis B, researchers are developing edible vaccines against such diseases as traveler's diarrhea and cholera. In trials completed so far, 50 or 100 grams of potato successfully prevented bacterial diarrhea, a leading killer of children in developing countries.
Potatoes, and other plants (scientists are also researching ways of putting the vaccines in carrots, tomatoes and lettuce), can also be altered to produce contraceptive vaccines to control wildlife populations. This application is currently tested in New Zealand where 70 million brush tail opossums vastly outnumber the 4 million human inhabitants. So far the results are promising.
The growth chambers, which are computer-controlled, provide an ideal environment for growing disease-free potatoes from tissue, rapidly multiplying clones, with each generation as good as the original.
The scientific project focusing on growing potato plants in outer space was dubbed "Astroculture." Its major purpose was to find out how we can grow our own food during our stays in space. As flights lengthen, it will be essential to grow food in space rather than provide it using the space shuttle as a deliverer of groceries. Plants in space not only are the food source, but also offer other benefits: through the photosynthetic process they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide oxygen for use by the crew; through the transpiration process they provide fresh water. They also beautify the surroundings.
The plant growth system must be able to provide high levels of light - from electrical sources available on orbit - and nutrients as efficiently as possible. This means, for example, that the levels of power and humidity have to be strictly controlled. Excessive humidity can damage experiments and equipment, while its insufficient levels can injure the plants.
As it turned out the space spuds from Astroculture were just fine, thank you - in no significant way different from their terrestrial counterparts. And the carefully planned and conducted experiment, Astroculture has already resulted in several commercial products to use on Earth in research, medicine and agricultural applications. One of them is improved production of potato plants for farmers everywhere. The new technology will save growers about five years in breeding new varieties of potatoes. The Chinese system of speeding plant development helps shorten the growing process. Quantum Tubers growth chambers combined with Chinese system of speeding plant development are a recipe for prolific and healthy harvests. Compressing the growth cycle produces an abundance of minitubers - several million annually from a small area. In the U.S., the system, which also provides cheaper earlier generation seeds, has been successfully employed with 60 commercial varieties of potatoes. Although this biomanufacturing process has been be first implemented in the United States, its major benefits should be really visible in countries lacking potato certification programs, where seed potatoes are often diseased and weak.
So we can expect a small starchy revolution. Not only healthier, better food, but painless and tasty (let's hope) vaccines. Not bad for small potatoes. End BUSINESS PAGES in Issue 39 - July 99 |
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