Plantibodies are Here!
Antibodies to botulinum toxin type A have now been harvested from a crop of tobacco plants in Ontario. Developed by the Department of Environmental Biology at the University of Guelph, and funded by Toxin Alert Inc., the Healthy Futures for Ontario
Agriculture program, and the Ontario Challenge Fund, the antibodies will be used in a diagnostic tool to detect the Clostridium botulinum toxin in food. "The initial success of this quick, clean, and economical method of producing antibodies ensures that there will be adequate and affordable supplies in the future of the basic ingredient in Toxin Alert's Toxin Guard® food freshness and food safety tests," said Dr. Ted Petroff of Toxin Alert Inc. The company is developing film wraps and bags to detect pathogens in food.
The fully-functional antibodies were produced through a process that completely bypasses the traditional animal (mouse-hybridoma) system of producing antibodies. According to the lead researcher, "This synthetic gene method of producing antibodies and other proteins holds great promise with regard to plant design, cost and the elimination of any potential transfer of animal-based diseases. Our process is quite flexible and our group is currently developing tobacco plants that express antibodies to pathogens such as Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Listeria monocytogenes." The tobacco plants were grown under quarantine in greenhouses maintained under normal growing conditions. (Toxin Alert Inc. Press Release, 7/24/03, via AgNet).
