The Rural Voice, 1999-06, Page 106 THE RURAL VOICE
Scrap Book
U. of Guelph seelcs plants to benefit animals
Genetically altered plants could
enhance the health and productivity
of Canada's farm animals, the
University of Guelph says.
Novel proteins produced in
plants can benefit pigs in several
ways. They can act as oral vaccines
and provide immunity to intestinal
viruses, such as transmissible
gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and
porcine respiratory and reproductive
syndrome (PRRS). As antibiotics
they can offer protection from other
intestinal pathogens and parasites,
and as growth factors they can
improve gut development and
function, says Larry Erickson, of the
Department of Plant Agriculture.
The focus of research at Guelph
is to overcome several challenges to
making this technology work,
Erickson says.
An important requirement is
obtaining sufficient expression of
the foreign protein that makes these
effects possible. Often levels are too
low, and one of the reasons has to do
with condon usage. A condon is
composed of three nucleotides
which specify a particular amino
acid. That amino acid, however, may
be represented by more than one
condon. For the plant to express the
mammalian protein correctly and in
sufficient quantities, researchers
must rebuild the mammalian gene to
suit the condon usage of the plant.
Another challenge is survivabil-
ity of the novel protein in the harsh
conditions of the animal's gastro-
intestinal tract. "Our strategy is to
select proteins that have evolved to
resist degradation and retain biolog-
ical activity until an immune res-
ponse has occurred." Erickson says.
A third challenge is presenting
the novel protein to the animal's
immune system so that it looks like a
pathogen, thereby stimulating an
immune response. If it resembles a
food protein, it will simply be
digested like a food protein.
Delivering vaccines, growth
factors and antibiotics through feed
is particularly beneficial to large
farm operations. Erickson says.0
—Source: Agri food Research
in Ontario
Dairy farming goes back thousands of years
A new study shows dairy farming took place in ancient Britain, suggesting
that milk has been part of economies for thousands of years.
Pottery shards unearthed in the Northampton area of the United Kingdom
contain dairy remnants, according to the study published in the journal Science.
"We provide direct evidence of dairying from preserved residues of dairy
products themselves," said the study's authors Stephanie Dudd and Richard
Evershed of the University of Bristol in Bristol, England.
Using a new testing method, the researchers linked the carbon found on the
pottery to animal milkfats.
"One major category of fat that we should be able to detect in pottery vessels
is that derived from milk," they said in the report.
Some milkfat remnants are permanently absorbed into the walls of pottery
vessels during processing or cooking. Previously is had been impossible to test
the pottery for dairy residue because the way milk decays over time changes its
chemical composition.
The new test works because the carbon isotope that gives off the distinct dairy
signature remains stable in preserved fats. The authors examined British pottery
artifacts from the Iron Age, which occurred from 1500 to 500 B.C.
Animals are thought to have been domesticated about 9000 B.C.. but until
now there had been no direct evidence they were milked. Secondary evidence,
such as the discovery of cheese strainers that date back to 4500 B.C. have been
found in archeological digs in Britain. Pictorial and written records show that
dairy farming began in the Sahara, Egypt and Mesopotamia about 4000 B.C. The
new testing method can be used at any archeological site around the world to
confirm other signs of dairy farming.0
—Source: Reuters News Agency
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6 THE RURAL VOICE
Scrap Book
U. of Guelph seelcs plants to benefit animals
Genetically altered plants could
enhance the health and productivity
of Canada's farm animals, the
University of Guelph says.
Novel proteins produced in
plants can benefit pigs in several
ways. They can act as oral vaccines
and provide immunity to intestinal
viruses, such as transmissible
gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and
porcine respiratory and reproductive
syndrome (PRRS). As antibiotics
they can offer protection from other
intestinal pathogens and parasites,
and as growth factors they can
improve gut development and
function, says Larry Erickson, of the
Department of Plant Agriculture.
The focus of research at Guelph
is to overcome several challenges to
making this technology work,
Erickson says.
An important requirement is
obtaining sufficient expression of
the foreign protein that makes these
effects possible. Often levels are too
low, and one of the reasons has to do
with condon usage. A condon is
composed of three nucleotides
which specify a particular amino
acid. That amino acid, however, may
be represented by more than one
condon. For the plant to express the
mammalian protein correctly and in
sufficient quantities, researchers
must rebuild the mammalian gene to
suit the condon usage of the plant.
Another challenge is survivabil-
ity of the novel protein in the harsh
conditions of the animal's gastro-
intestinal tract. "Our strategy is to
select proteins that have evolved to
resist degradation and retain biolog-
ical activity until an immune res-
ponse has occurred." Erickson says.
A third challenge is presenting
the novel protein to the animal's
immune system so that it looks like a
pathogen, thereby stimulating an
immune response. If it resembles a
food protein, it will simply be
digested like a food protein.
Delivering vaccines, growth
factors and antibiotics through feed
is particularly beneficial to large
farm operations. Erickson says.0
—Source: Agri food Research
in Ontario
Dairy farming goes back thousands of years
A new study shows dairy farming took place in ancient Britain, suggesting
that milk has been part of economies for thousands of years.
Pottery shards unearthed in the Northampton area of the United Kingdom
contain dairy remnants, according to the study published in the journal Science.
"We provide direct evidence of dairying from preserved residues of dairy
products themselves," said the study's authors Stephanie Dudd and Richard
Evershed of the University of Bristol in Bristol, England.
Using a new testing method, the researchers linked the carbon found on the
pottery to animal milkfats.
"One major category of fat that we should be able to detect in pottery vessels
is that derived from milk," they said in the report.
Some milkfat remnants are permanently absorbed into the walls of pottery
vessels during processing or cooking. Previously is had been impossible to test
the pottery for dairy residue because the way milk decays over time changes its
chemical composition.
The new test works because the carbon isotope that gives off the distinct dairy
signature remains stable in preserved fats. The authors examined British pottery
artifacts from the Iron Age, which occurred from 1500 to 500 B.C.
Animals are thought to have been domesticated about 9000 B.C.. but until
now there had been no direct evidence they were milked. Secondary evidence,
such as the discovery of cheese strainers that date back to 4500 B.C. have been
found in archeological digs in Britain. Pictorial and written records show that
dairy farming began in the Sahara, Egypt and Mesopotamia about 4000 B.C. The
new testing method can be used at any archeological site around the world to
confirm other signs of dairy farming.0
—Source: Reuters News Agency