Marissa+Harrington-Verb

= The Grow tein Project =

= =

//**About Us **//
The Growtein Project was founded in 1996 by four young students of Genetics who saw many potential benefits in the use of recombinant DNA technology. The company’s original name was Glowteins Inc., inspired by the use of recombinant DNA technology to insert luminescent phosphids from jellyfish into other organisms for the detection of genetic disorders. The company still works with phosphids, but research is now being put into an exciting new experiment in recombinant DNA technology.

**//About Our President: Jeanine Moore//**
I was born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1975 and became fascinated with genetics the moment I realized that I looked a little like both of my parents but was not identical to either. Back during The Growtein Project’s start at John Hopkins, I was the youngest of our group and the only undergraduate, and was therefore not always taken seriously by my business partners. I first proposed the idea of skin regeneration in 2000 when the former president, my friend Angela, was caught in a house fire. The time she spent in physical therapy was excruciating, so I suggested to my colleagues that we try using recombinant DNA technology to let burn victims treat themselves. Angela had to step down from her position, and since then I have humbly stood at the head of our ongoing research.

//Jeanine Moore currently lives in New York City, NY with her husband and twin daughters.//

**//The History of Recombinant DNA Technology//**
Paul Berg created the first recombinant DNA (or rDNA) in 1971. It was made of a piece of lambda phage virus DNA inserted into DNA of the simian virus SV40. Berg received the Nobel Prize in 1980 for this landmark achievement, but public fears kept him from taking the next step of actually transferring the rDNA into an organism. The scientific community was concerned that if a dangerous modified gene were to be inserted into a bacterium, it could spread outside of the lab. This resulted in a missed opportunity for Berg, as the risk turned out to be much lower than it was thought to be.

Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen allowed themselves to take that extra step in 1972, inserting their rDNA into bacteria in a way that allowed it to replicate naturally. By making E. Coli resistant to the antibacterial tetracycline, they could at the same time prove that their experiment had succeeded and get rid of any failed transfers by killing any bacteria that hadn’t gotten the rDNA. Boyer was also the scientist who discovered the benefits of the enzyme EcoRI, which they used to cleave the plasmids.

The first commercial application of recombinant DNA technology was the production of insulin in 1982.

**// How Does Recombinant DNA Technology Work?//**
The gene of interest first has to be removed from its original DNA strand, which is done so using the restriction enzyme EcoRI. EcoRI cleaves the DNA so the strands are staggered with specific complementary nucleotides loose, thus making it easier for two ends to bond. These complementary ends are called "sticky ends" and are essential in the creation of rDNA.



The gene of interest is now separate and containing the same sticky ends as the plasmid vector being targeted. DNA Ligase attaches the gene to the plasmid, and the resulting rDNA is injected into the nucleus of the target cell, where, if successful, it will be reproduced through mitosis.

Because the signals for protein expression are organism-specific, the success of an rDNA transfer depends on the vector containing a promoter, a ribosome binding site, and a terminator that is recognizable to the original organism from which the foreign DNA came.

**//Current Uses of rDNA//**
As you may know, we currently use the technology to create pGLO plasmids to insert into organisms for the detection of genetic diseases. But where else might one find rDNA? A good deal of the current uses are for the benefit of agriculture. Crops have received rDNA that makes them resistant to heat and drought, as well as both pests and dangerous pesticides. It is also used to replicate various human proteins – for example, insulin. The gene to create insulin is inserted into bacteria, and the resulting protein is sold to diabetics. Using this same technique, bacterial and viral antigens can be mass-produced to create vaccines.

**// Our Future Endeavors//**
We are currently putting most of our energy into researching the possibilities of human skin regrowth. Of course, we face some competition from stem cell researchers in this area, but we feel our method will be more effective. We are hoping to find and isolate the gene in lizards which allows them to regenerate lost tails. If this gene were to be implanted into a human (a burn victim, for instance), they might be able to regrow skin cells on their own. Obviously this is still a rather distant goal, but we are optimistic for its future.

**//References//**
Black, Ken. "What Is Recombinant DNA Technology?" //WiseGEEK: Clear Answers for Common Questions//. Ed. Bronwyn Harris. Conjecture Corporation, 18 Nov. 2011. Web. Jan. 2012. .

Cooper, D N, and J. Schmidtke. "Diagnosis of Genetic Disease Using Recombinant DNA." //Mendeley//. Mendeley Ltd., 1991. Web. Jan. 2012. .

Kuure-Kinsey, Matthew, and Beth McCooey. "An Introduction to Recombinant DNA." //Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) :: Architecture, Business, Engineering, IT, Humanities, Science//. RPI, 2000. Web. Jan. 2012. .

"Paul Berg, Herbert W. Boyer, and Stanley N. Cohen." //Homepage of the Chemical Heritage Foundation | Chemical Heritage Foundation//. Chemical Heritage Foundation, 2010. Web. Jan. 2012. .