Cancer Drug Bio-factories: Hairy Roots

The Ri (root-inducing) plasmid of Agrobacterium rhizogenes carries agropine genes. When A. rhizogenes infects a plant, a portion of the Ri plasmid DNA enters the host plant cell and causes the production of hairy roots at the site of action. A foreign gene could be inserted into modified Ri plasmid and the recombinant DNA (plasmid) [...]

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“Supermouse” is hear: ‘Will it bell the cat?’

Scientists have created genetically modified mouse which manifests remarkable physical behaviour. It can run 6 kms at a speed of of 20 metres per minute for five hours, eats 60% more than normal mouse, does not put on weight, enjoys an active sex life to an old age, and lives longer. The [...]

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Maize Mini-chromosomes. Algae as Biofuel

This post is about two recent developments in the field of biotechnology and environmental science.
1) Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is the method of choice for inserting foreign genes into the plant genome. Through this method one gene could be introduced at a time in a single experiment. However, to introduce two foreign genes, one needs to develop [...]

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