science The Biotech Institute Scientists and industry work By KELLY CLARK Collegian Science Writer From the production of wine and bread through yeast fermentation, to the development of more resistant plant species, the field of biotechnolo gy is making rapid strides. At the University, progress in the field has led to the initiation of a highly integrated organization of sci entists the Biotechnology Institute. With the completion of its building located between Boucke and Buck hout Buildings the Institute is developing multidisciplinary re search programs in areas such as applied and environmental microbio logy, bioprocess development and engineering, molecular genetics and cell biology, plant and animal cell culture, and biomolecular structure and function. Biotechnology is the use of biologi cal systems or organisms for com mercial benefit. When the Institute was formed in the fall of 1984, Jean E. Brenchley relinquished her executive position at Genex Corporation and came to the University to begin work with the Institute. She now serves as the Insti tute's director and heads the Univer sity's department of molecular and cell biology. "The reason for the formation of the Institute was the importance that biotechnology plays and the fact that almost any major university is going to have some kind of program in biotechnology," Brenchley said. "In 1984, we felt that Penn State had the opportunity to become a leader in this area, and that would be extremely important," she said. At that time in 1984, several activ ities were being initiated in conjunc tion with the Institute, mainly the design of the Biotechnology building, Brenchley said. "The other activities have been fundraising . . . visits to a variety of corporate leaders and executives, as well as talking to other individuals," she said. Since most of the research con ducted within the Institute will be application-oriented, corporations are also showing interest through financial support. "Johnson and Johnson have do nated $300,000 and we have had dona tions from other companies such as Rhom and Haas," Brenchley said. These corporate funds are used for particular areas of research that the Rows of ehrtemeyer flasks line the shelves of one of the Biotechnology Institute's laboratories. The Institute is developing multidisciplinary programs in areas such as applied find environmental microbiology, bioprocess development, molecular genetics and cell biology, and biomolecular structure and function. corporations designate, as well as general purposes, such as the com pletion of the building, she said. The University financed a large portion of the initial construction of the $B.B million building by issuing bonds, thus using no tuition monies, she said. The Institute financed the building's completion through its fundraising efforts. The first floor of the building con tains lecture halls and classrooms and is controlled by the University's scheduling office. The second through the fifth floors house the Institute's centralized equipment and instrumentation fa cilities, research laboratories and administrative offices, she said. Fenske Building is also being reno vated into a pilot plant to be used for large volume testing and process development, she said. "The kind of money that comes in is generally to support research in an area that is of interest to the compa ny," Brenchley said. "Very seldom is it specific to a certain product; in stead, it goes towards an area that can lead to a product." The Institute can also receive gen eral funding from companies and then offer competitive grants to re searchers, she said. Individual researchers are now compiling and sending grant applica tions to several foundations and to the federal government to support their research, she said. Education When speaking of education, Brench ley does not consider biotechnology to be a discipline in itself. "It builds on many standard disci plines that already exist: microbiolo gy, biochemistry, food science and chemical engineering," she said. However, courses that expand upon these disciplines are needed, she said. Institute administrators are try ing to develop lecture and laboratory courses that incorporate biotechnolo gy principles for both undergraduate and graduate students. Students have shown a consider able interest in such courses, and the possibility of developing a major in biotechnology still exists, she said. Biotechnology must not be con fused with the area of bioengineering, she said. Bioengineering involves the development of artificial organs and engineering in a mechanical sense, she said. Biotechnology involves the use of biology and living systems to make products. A very old and common example of biotechnology is the use of yeast to make ethanol, she said. With the advances in technology over the years, she said, yeast can now be used to make products such as insulin and interferon. Biotechnology is also mistakenly interchanged with the term genetic engineering, which involves the iden tification, isolation and manipulation of genes, Brechnley said. "Genetic engineering is really the tool with its use of recombinant DNA that lets us do so many of the new things in biotechnology," she said. The scientists Membership in the Institute includ es about 70 people from several dif ferent departments including the University's Hershey Medical School, Brenchley said. Most of these scientists are not starting new research projects in biotechnology but are continuing their work in areas related to this field, she said. Some faculty are being housed tem porarily in the Institute's building while their laboratory facilities are being renovated, she said. "We are now recruiting additional people to come in, and they would be housed in the building," Brenchley said. "We are trying to get the very best individuals we can, and those people are often so good that they have several other opportunities." Regardless of the competition with other places, "(the Institute) has a lot to offer," she said. Industry relationship Biotechnology, by nature, rep resents a bridge between the academ ic researcher and industry, Brenchley said. The Institute works to facilitate these kinds of interac tions. By contacting industries, Institute administrators try to determine what kind of scientific research interests them. They can then develop an itinerary with University scientists, whose re search may be of interest to industry, Brenchley said. Although many large companies employ their own researchers, long term problems occur in which the The Biotechnology Institute's head- quarters, located between Buckhout and Boucke Buildings, houses lec- ture halls, research laboratories, administrative offices, and equip ment and instrumentation facilities. to solve long-term university setting is most desirable for finding solutions, she said. For example, a drug company may be working on a product for hyperten sion and may need information about how cell receptors work in response to this drug, she said. If this situation would occur, the Institute would contact a member whose research involves cell recep tors and make the connection be tween the researcher and the company. The company would then support the researcher financially to examine the effects of three or four substances of interest, Brenchley said. "There are many, many examples of that kind of linkage that could be used for agriculture -- such as how a certain herbicide is killing plants," she said. These relationships are beneficial to the consumer, as well as the com pany and the researcher, she said. Plant pathology Herbert Cole, head of the depart ment of plant pathology, said four faculty from his department are members of the Institute. In the effort to boost the resistance of crops and ornamental plants to pathogens, recombinant DNA tech nology is extremely valuable, he said. "Our department and faculty are strongly supportive of the Biotechno logy Institute," Cole said. "It will allow Penn State to be in the forefront of this area of science. "Biotechnology is just one more step on the progression of manipulat ing organisms to attain specific goals," he said. Instead of relying on natural muta tion to produce more resistant plant species, recombinant DNA allows more specific manipulation, he said. Cole said although society is always concerned about the "potential to create a monster organism that would be deleterious," chances of that occuring are slim because genet ic engineers have such a detailed knowledge of the organisms and gen es with which they are working. Society benefits highly from the production of pharmaceuticals, crops that are resistant to insects and dis ease, and a higher nutritional content in crops, he added. Cole's involvement with the Insti tute includes assisting the faculty in developing cooperative programs and seeking funding. He views the Institute as an organization through which scientists can unite. "The cost of equipment and facili ties is so high that no single research er can pay for it alone," he said. Funding for research in the area of plant pathology comes from the Na tional Science Foundation, the Coin petitve Grants Program of the United States Department of Agriculture, and United States industry in gener al, Cole said. Crop improvement Charles D. Boyer, University pro fessor of plant breeding and genetics and a member of the Institute, said a great deal of publicity and hype exist about crop and plant improvement through biotechnology. This sometimes leads people to believe that anything is possible. while in fact, barriers still exist limit ing complete perfection of plants, he said. Biotechnology has helped in over coming several factors that have severely limited past research in the areas of horticulture, agronomy, and plant pathology, he said. For example, time has always been a hindrance because, in most cases, only one generation of crops can be produced in one year, he said. Now, recombinant DNA technolo gies allow researchers to speed the process of mutation. Through these technologies, scien tists can also improve genetic varia bility by producing new varieties of plants. In the past, limited amounts of space for research have restricted the size of the population under study, Boyer said. Now, because scientists are working more with cell cultures instead of entire plants, this problem has been alleviated. In older methods of research, a culture of plant cells would be sub jected to stresses such as toxins or high saline. The cells would then undergo natural mutations that al lowed them to survive and be reeul tured, Boyer explained. Now, without relying on chance, researchers can identify the genes responsible for providing resistance to pathogens and transfer these genes to an ideal plant variety that already possesses several desireable traits. Through these methods, scientists are using much smaller populations with less time and cost, Boyer said. Biotechnology can not yet directly address limitations involving yield, David Sena (junior•international politics and economics) runs an experiment in a laboratory of the Biotechnology Institute. IBiotechnology) builds on many standard disciplines that already exist: microbiology, biochemistry, food science and chemical engineering.' Jean E. Brenchley, director of the Biotechnology Institute productivity, and overall nutritional quality, he said. Because these are polygenic traits that result from the interaction of many genes, it is difficult for scien tists to identify and isolate individual genes. Boyer said his work with tomatoes is a direct application of recombinant DNA technology. If scientists can genetically regulate genes that con trol the ripening of tomatoes, farmers could pick tomatoes while they are still green. Shipping could then be improved, and the tomatoes could ripen at a later time, he said. Mushroom production C. Peter Romaine, associate pro fessor of plant pathology and another This BioFlo machine is part of the new equipment for the Blotech building The Daily Collegia Thursday, Oct. 22, 1987 roblems Collegian Photo/C. Duncan Hudson member of the Institute, has been working with Agaricus Bisporus, the common mushroom "We are trying to study the (cause) of La France disease (in mush rooms)," he said, adding that the disease was first identified in 1950 and occurs worldwide. Although a complex of at least three viruses is found in the diseased mushroom, "we don't have direct proof that viruses are causing the disease," Romaine said. These viruses were first found in Britain in 1962, he said, adding this was the first time a virus was ever found to infect a fungus. Romaine said his main goal is to purify the virus, identify certain bio chemical properties, and then devise a diagnostic test for La France dis ease for use by industry, he said. This test incorporates recombinant DNA technology by involving the use of a radioactive probe to identify the viral DNA within the genome of the mushroom, he said. Scientists may also someday be able to make the virus avirulent and using it as a vector to transfer partic ular genes to the mushroom, he said. Paper making Lignin, the compound taken from wood when paper is made, is the subject of study by Ming Tien, assis tant professor of biochemistry and a member of the Institute. Lignin is a polymer of aromatic components, and is commonly known as - nature's plastic, - he said. CoNogion Nab I Ducan Hudson
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