German scientists say they have developed an environmentally friendly genetically modified tomato that could be used to deliver vaccines and antibodies. The team say the tomato, which has been engineered so that its genes cannot be passed onto other crops, could provide doctors with an effective way of delivering vaccines, drugs, and antibodies to patients. By using up-to-the minute DNA technology, the researchers successfully inserted a foreign gene into the chloroplast of the tomato – whereas genes are usually inserted into the nuclear DNA or genome. This enables the scientists to make the plant produce more foreign proteins, while also removing the problem of foreign DNA being transmitted to other plants – one of the main problems with current genetic modification techniques. The same team are currently working on methods of making plants produce vitamins.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 31st August 2001
