'Chameleon' Plant Marks Landmine's Spot — Cape Times via checkbiotech.org
News item: January 26, 2004
Researchers in Denmark are preparing to test a modified thale cress plant that they say will turn red when planted near a landmine. The scientists hope to use this technology to help locate and remove the estimated 100 million unexploded landmines in 75 countries around the world.
URL: www.checkbiotech.org 11 Feb 2004

-------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE: Press release on the technology of Aresa Biodetection ApS
SOURCE: Aresa, Denmark, Press Release
www.aresa.dk
DATE: Jan 24, 2004

------------------- archive: http://www.genet-info.org/ -------------------

SOURCE OF PLANT IMAGE: http://www.aresa.dk/thetec.htm
Press release on the technology of Aresa Biodetection ApS

Danish scientists of Aresa Biodetection have made a new discovery with considerable humanitarian and environmental potential. After several years of intensive research it is now possible to produce a plant, which, in the presence of specific compounds in the soil, can change colour from green to red within 3-5 weeks of growth. Hence, Aresa has developed a unique biodetection system, which has a great potential for a variety of applications. This technology is being developed to detect explosives present in landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in soil, as well as to detect and remove heavy metals in polluted soil. invention may significantly speed the removal of landmines and UXO in cultivatable areas permit the subsequent use of cleared areas for agriculture to maximize socio-economic benefits. The plants will be tested and gradually introduced in landmine and UXO removal operations as the technology matures.

"This is a promising development in the efforts to find a safe and cost effective solution to detect mines, and is likely to be a very welcomed addition to current methods if successfully passing further testing in areas of operation", says Geir Bjorsvik, Senior Advisor Landmines, Norwegian People Aid.

The technology is based on genetic engineering of the plant Thale Cress (Arabidopsis thaliana). This plant has several advantages in developing this system. For example, it is naturally selfpollinating and the plants
developed by Aresa are conditionally fertile such that they are malesterile whereby growth of these Biodetection plants can be strictly controlled.

"This is a pioneering example of how we will see genetically engineered plants applied for humanitarian and environmental purposes in the future", says professor John Mundy, Department of Plant Physiology,
University of Copenhagen.

"Our team has set out to develop a technology with large potential benefits all around the world. In time we may contribute to clear land in large scale project much faster than possible today, and reduce the number of people getting injured or killed by landmines", says CEO of Aresa, PhD Simon Ostergaard.

Aresa Biodetection ApS is a biotech company founded in June 2001. Aresa is owned by Bracifeae A/S, a biotech holding and development company, and DTU Innovation A/S, A venture capital company.

further information, please contact:
Aresa Biodetection ApS:
Solvgade 14A
Copenhagen K
Phone: +45 70 22 77 47
+45 70 22 77 57
Web: http://www.aresa.dk
Aresa Biodetection

Aresa Biodetection is a biotech company founded in June 2001, based on several years of creative and innovative research at the Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The business areas of Aresa rely on a unique technology platform in terms of a biodetection system able to identify the presence of specific components in the soil. The technology being developed is based on genetically modified plants that are able to change colour from green to red when growing nearby specific compounds. Hence, detection of various compounds in the environment is possible without using sophisticated detection methods and devices.

The biodetection system may be applied for various purposes where outer stimuli initiate a genetic response within the engineered plants. Although the technology platform has many applications to be pursued, Aresa focuses on two main applications:

- Detection of explosives (such as landmines and unexploded ordnance) in the soil
- Detection of heavy metals in the soil, and possibly removal of heavy metals by remediation of the soil

Aresa will focus on the development of cutting edge technologies, which initially are introduced to the market via collaborative partnerships and/or strategic alliances. Furthermore, Aresa will enter licensing agreements to allow partners to use the technology platform for specific purposes.

The Technology
http://www.aresa.dk/thetec.htm

The biodetection system of Aresa, which is in the process of being intellectually protected, may be introduced in different plant types. The biodetection system is currently being developed using the plant Thale Cress (Arabidopsis thaliana).

The underlying biochemical mechanism by which the colour change of the genetically plants occurs is based on altering the regulation of the natural pigment biosynthetic pathways in the plants.

Plants normally go red or redish in autumn where the red pigments dominate over the green ones, or as a result of stressed growth conditions. The genetically engineered plants are modified in a way that only allows these plants to go red if triggered by a specific stimulus present in the soil. The stimulus is unique to the plant dependent on the actual application that is pursued with the specific plant. Stimuli may be heavy metals, or NO2 that evaporates when explosives are reduced in the soil. Such stimuli trigger the production of a key-enzyme in the biochemical pathway responsible for production of the group of red pigments called anthocyanins. The resulting colour change is expected within 3-6 weeks dependent on the growth conditions.

The plant:
There are many reasons for choosing the plant Thale Cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) as a first choice fordevelopment of the biotetection system:

- The plant has a fast growth rate (growth cycle of 6-8 weeks).
- The plant is naturally growing all around the world (except from the poles)
- The plant is a well studied genetic model system, thus, data, knowledge are available.
- It is a true advantage that the plant is an obligate self-pollinating plant in order to avoid spreading of genetically engineered plants to the environment.
- Male-sterility can be introduced into the genetically engineered plants in order to eliminate the risk for spreading pollen. Thus, the plants developed by Aresa neither germinate nor set seeds unless a specific growth hormone is added to the plants, so plant growth can be strictly controlled.

14 Oct 2003
6012 Canada, U.S. cultivate plant that may detect land mines
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
By Steve Lambert

The Canadian and the U.S. militaries are developing a new weapon in the war against land mines -- genetically modified plants.

Researchers working for defence departments on both sides of the border are working with the University of Alberta on developing the plants over the next two years at a cost of $135,000.

The U.S. government has also contracted a number of universities to do similar work.

If successful, the plants would be modern-day versions of canaries in coal mines, whose deaths alerted miners of years gone by to dangerous underground gas levels.

Only instead of dying like birds, the plants would change colour if they came into contact with soil containing TNT and other chemical compounds commonly used in land mines, thereby warning people to stay away.

"Various land mines leak [into the soil] at different rates," said Anthony Faust, a researcher with the land mine detection branch of the Department of National Defence.

"Some are actually almost open to the environment around them."

But Professor Michael Deyholos, who is leading the research effort at the University of Alberta's Biological Sciences department, said many questions remain.

"The truth is, we don't know exactly how it's going to work," he said.

"But we do know that there are bacteria and other organisms that can detect things like TNT in the soil. And we might take a gene from those bacteria and put that in the roots of the plant.

"And then when TNT binds to the receptor that that gene makes, it will cause a series of signals to be sent to the plant.

"Ultimately, those signals will end up in the flower or the leaves of the plant and change the colour of the flower or leaves."

Because the plants could take months to grow, they would not be useful in most combat zones.

But during a lengthy peacekeeping mission, or after a war is over and civilians want to reclaim their land, plant seeds could be spread by airplane or helicopter and indicate whether an area is safe.

"One of the big problems with humanitarian de-mining is the sheer size of the problem," said Mr. Faust.

"We have detection technologies that are quite capable of detecting land mines individually, but to try to clear large areas of farmland with the technology that exists is very expensive.

"So we're looking for a technique that is low cost."

The United Nations estimates there are more than 110 million land mines buried around the world, with Angola alone having 10 million land mines and an amputee population of 70,000.

Mr. Faust came up with the genetically modified plant idea after watching a TV newscast.

"I caught the tail end of a clip that talked about sending genetically modified plants to Mars. These plants were going to be modified to be sensitive to heavy metals. So I wondered if that was applicable to any type of chemical compound."

It could be five years before the plants are developed and ready to be spread, said Prof. Deyholos.

Canadian Press
Links:
Source: The Globe and Mail

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Researchers developing 'sentinel plants' to warn of bioterrorism

07 Mar 2003
4607 Researchers developing 'sentinel plants' to warn of bioterrorism

Friday, March 7, 2003

U.S. soldiers walk down a trail in a war zone. One of them pulls out a hand-held electronic device and points it at a native plant. The readings on the device indicate the plant was exposed to nerve gas sometime in the last 48 hours, allowing the soldiers to don protective gear before they suffer a lethal dose.

Although such a device does not exist, it's not as far-fetched as it may sound. As concerns grow over the threat of bioterrorism and weapons of mass destruction, university researchers are working on an early warning system -- the figurative canary in the mineshaft -- that could be as unobtrusive and ubiquitous as plants in a landscape.

Under a three-year, $3.5 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Penn State scientists are laying the groundwork for genetically engineering plants that can detect and signal the presence of many harmful chemical or biological agents.

"Plants make good sentinels because they can't run away," says Jack Schultz, a chemical ecologist and professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. "Because they are rooted in their environment, plants must respond dynamically to environmental changes. And many of these responses can be observed or measured, such as changes in color, shape or growth habit, or the emitting of volatiles into the air.

"In simple terms, if you don't fertilize your houseplant, it may not grow well and may change color," Schultz explains. "The plant is reporting the conditions it's experiencing in its soil. In essence, it's telling you, 'Feed me.' The trick is to design plants that respond in particular ways to particular stimuli, and to amplify these responses so they can be detected readily."

The key to manipulating plant response to environmental stimuli is to understand the role of certain genes, says Ramesh Raina, assistant professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science.

"Plants and animals detect and respond to a range of things -- including microbes, insects, chemicals and hormones -- via cellular proteins," Raina says. "These proteins, called receptor-like kinases (RLKs), have a sensing domain outside the cell membrane that binds molecules in the environment. This binding sends a signal inside the cell to the response domain, known as the kinase, which then turns on genes that trigger a response."

To study this system, Schultz and Raina are using Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant from the mustard family that grows around the world and is widely used as a model organism in plant biology. "Arabidopsis is the most studied plant on Earth and the only one for which the entire genomic sequence is publicly available," says Raina.

The problem is, there are more than 600 known RLKs in Arabidopsis, but scientists understand the functions of fewer than 10. "For most of these receptors, we don't know what they sense," says Raina, "and once they've sensed, we don't know what response they trigger."

To solve these mysteries, scientists in Raina's laboratory are using recombinant DNA technology to fuse the receptor (sensing part) of these proteins to the kinase (response part) of another protein that can induce visible responses. As a result, the researchers hope to develop plants that respond to all environmental stimuli in a predetermined and visual way.

"When our work is complete, we'll have a 'kit' of several hundred plant lines, each that will sense different things but will respond the same way," Raina says. "In this case, if they sense an environmental stimulus, they will fluoresce, or glow, green."

Schultz then will take these plant lines and treat them with various agents. "By exposing these plants to different stimuli and looking for the response, we can determine what sensor proteins are responsible for sensing what agents," he says. "The ultimate goal is to develop 'plug-and-play' kits that can be inserted into a variety of plants to act as sentinels in various situations."

Such sentinel plants have several possible uses. They might be able to sense and warn of the presence of chemical warfare agents or animal pathogens, such as anthrax. Other plants might be designed to detect and signal the presence of explosives in soil, which would aid in locating and removing land mines. "Land mines are leaky, and the soil around them contains products of TNT decomposition," says Schultz. "Engineering plants that can detect mines is of great interest, both to the military and to humanitarian groups."

The technology also holds promise for agriculture. If researchers can learn more about how plants sense and respond to insects, diseases, poor soils, drought and other environmental challenges, they may be able to develop plants that can "tell" them where and when these problems exist.

"This work has enormous implications for precision agriculture," Schultz explains. "Imagine a tractor with a sensor on the front that picks up plants' chemical signals as it crosses the field. If the sensor detects plant response to Colorado potato beetle in one part of the field, it directs pesticide spray only to that area, while leaving the rest of the field untouched."

Beyond the potential practical applications, the scientists are motivated by simple curiosity about how plants sense environmental stimuli. "The plant biology world is intensely interested in the results of basic research such as this," says Raina.

Contact: Chuck Gill
cdg5@psu.edu
814-863-2713
Penn State
Links:
EurekAlert

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Genetically engineered plants that recognize bio attack