UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 30, Page 1
May 2, 1996
State legislators visit, tour technology center

     To understand the latest gene-sequencing technologies and obtain
background on the University's proposed biotechnology initiative,
Delaware legislators visited the Delaware Technology Park in Newark
Friday.
     In his February budget request before the General Assembly's
Joint Finance Committee, University President David P. Roselle told
legislators that the state of Delaware has an opportunity to become a
"national and world leader" in biotechnology by building on common
interests in molecular biology shared by the University and Delaware's
chemical, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.
     The president urged the legislators to fund a proposed University
request of $400,000 for five new faculty positions and $1.25 million
for special equipment, spread out over the next two years. The new
positions would be in genome science, gene targeting, soil molecular
biology, marine molecular biochemistry and plant molecular biology.
     The eight legislators visited the DuPont Co.'s Agricultural
Products Division location at the park, which will be operating 24
high-speed gene sequencers to identify the active genes of corn and
soybeans. After determining the genome of these food crops, DuPont
hopes to create such new products as genetically engineered feeds that
contain more oil and protein or environmentally safe chemicals for
crop protection.
     Senators who attended the information session were Richard Hague,
Liane Sorenson, Steve Amick, Bob Voshel and Patty Blevins.
     Members of the House of Representatives included Stephanie
Ulbrich, Tim Boulden and Pamela Maier. Sue Rhoades of the Delaware
Development Office also attended.
     Representatives from the University included Roselle; Provost Mel
Schiavelli; John Nye, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences;
David Hollowell, senior vice president; John Brook, vice president of
government and public relations; and Rick Armitage, director of
government relations.
     The University already has a number of faculty members trained in
biotechnology and molecular science who specialize in poultry vaccine
development, soil science and marine biochemistry. In addition, the
College of Agricultural Sciences has a new biotechnology laboratory
under construction, which will provide the highest level of bio-
containment.
     "The synergy between university and industrial researchers that
has brought prosperity to research partnerships in other states can be
energized in Delaware as well," Roselle told the Joint Finance
Committee in February.
     If the General Assembly approves the University's biotechnology
initiative, the UD College of Agricultural Sciences will enter this
brave new world of agriculture by creating what is thought to be the
largest gene sequencing facility in the U.S. dedicated to
agriculturally important plants, animals and organisms. In cooperation
with industry partners, including the DuPont Co., and other Delaware
academic institutions, the Delaware Agricultural Biotechnology Center
proposes to focus on gene discovery in crop plants, their insect and
fungal pathogens and on poultry disease viruses.
     "The opportunity for major breakthroughs in agricultural
production will come from biotechnology," John Nye, dean of the
college, said. "By identifying the expressed [active] genes in food
crops, we can produce higher yields and reduce our dependency on
chemicals for pest control."
     Biotechnology-in which scientists transfer characteristics from
one organism to another unrelated organism-involves the identification
of desirable genes found in the chromosomes of a plant or animal.
Genes are made up of a material known as DNA, and the once time-
consuming process of identifying DNA fragments that make up specific
genes has now been speeded up by automatic sequencers-machines that
can identify the genetic code.
     "Although traditional genetics works, cross breeding for a better
variety was incredibly time-consuming," Nye said. "Plus, we didn't
really understand the genome. Now, we can look at a specific gene for
a desired characteristic, such as resistance to a particular disease
or the ability to withstand high soil salinity. We can identify
exactly the gene we are interested in, extract it, clone it and insert
it into another plant."
     Nonetheless, deciphering the genetic makeup of important crop
plants remains a formidable task. Along with its first industrial
partner, the DuPont Co.'s Agricultural Products Division, the center
expects to focus initially on analyzing the expressed genes of corn
and soybeans and creating computer databases of specific cloned
sequences. Over the next four-years, the partners expect to sequence
more than 1 million expressed genes in plants and poultry viruses.
     "DuPont has assembled a group of highly qualified molecular
biologists, DNA sequencing specialists and computer programmers along
with 24 state-of-the art sequencers for an advanced technology center
at Delaware Technology Park in Newark," Nye said. "We have an
opportunity to develop a synergistic relationship with these world-
class molecular biologists and, in doing so, strengthen molecular
biology across the campus."
     A major benefit of the center to the University is intellectual
stimulation, Nye said, and the new center will offer student training
and regular seminars. Student interns will have the opportunity to
work as lab technicians and there will be an opportunity for graduate
and postdoctoral fellowships.
     Closer ties with Delaware State University and Delaware Technical
and Community College are part of the proposed center.
     The College of Agricultural Sciences, which already has a world-
class program in developing vaccines for poultry diseases, now has a
new biotechnology laboratory under construction. Supported by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, the poultry industry, the state and the
University, this 16,000-square-foot lab will be a state-of-the-art
facility to study recombinant gene vaccines at the highest level of
bio-containment.
     Nye says that Delmarva poultry industries and vaccine
manufacturers also will benefit from the proposed biotechnology
research center, as the molecular biology technologies also are
important tools in understanding poultry disease viruses.
     The developed database of genetic information will be a highly
valued intellectual property attractive to agricultural biotechnology
industries, Nye said. He envisions future business ventures to grow
out of such information, with the University and industry partners
sharing the value of the genetic information.
     The University has experience dealing with such intellectual
property issues, he said, through the Delaware Research Partnership
Program. Over the past five years, faculty in the UD College of
Agricultural Sciences alone have received almost $2.5 million through
that program, and their projects have supported agricultural
industries in Delaware. "The center will provide even greater
incentives to attract new industries and support existing ones," Nye
said.
                                                        -Cornelia Weil