Harvard, Monsatan Scientists Create New Technology Against GMO-resistant (Bt) Agricultural Pests

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/154447/20160429/harvard-monsanto-scientists-create-new-technology-against-gmo-resistant-agricultural-pests.htm

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Thanks to Harvard professor David Liu's phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE) technology, Harvard and Monsanto scientists evolved new forms of a protein known as "Bt toxin," which can assist in controlling Bt toxin-resistance in insects. Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis.

With typical processes, it can take a year to engineer the insect-killing protein in a laboratory, but using the PACE technology, it can take only a month, said Thomas Malvar, lead of the insect-control discovery at Monsanto.

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As the collection of proteins, evolved with the help of PACE, become more diverse, Liu said he hopes scientists will continue to use PACE to take on problems that are difficult to solve through traditional methods. In fact, if it took PACE 22 days to pull off 500 generations, traditional stepwise methods might take a decade.

PACE could also be used in a variety of fields that would benefit from the quick evolution of proteins. For instance, in health care, PACE could speed up the discovery of new therapeutic proteins, researchers said.

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Harvard may wear uniforms that look like those of Gryffindor, but it is clearly in the house of Slytherin.