Wednesday, March 17, 2010

“Unlocking the Opium Poppy's Biggest Secret: Genes That ... - Science Daily” plus 2 more

“Unlocking the Opium Poppy's Biggest Secret: Genes That ... - Science Daily” plus 2 more

Unlocking the Opium Poppy's Biggest Secret: Genes That ... - Science Daily

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 09:21 PM PDT

ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2010) — Researchers at the University of Calgary have discovered the unique genes that allow the opium poppy to make codeine and morphine, thus opening doors to alternate methods of producing these effective painkillers either by manufacturing them in a lab or controlling the production of these compounds in the plant.

"The enzymes encoded by these two genes have eluded plant biochemists for a half-century," says Peter Facchini, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, who has dedicated his career to studying the unique properties of the opium poppy. "In finding not only the enzymes but also the genes, we've made a major step forward. It's equivalent in finding a gene involved in cancer or other genetic disorders."

The researchers' findings are published in Nature Chemical Biology.

Codeine is by far the most widely used opiate in the world and one of the most commonly used painkillers. Codeine can be extracted directly from the plant, most codeine is synthesized from the much more abundant morphine found in opium poppy. Codeine is converted by an enzyme in the liver to morphine, which is the active analgesic and a naturally occurring compound in humans. Canadians spend more than $100 million every year on codeine-containing pharmaceutical products and are among the world's top consumers of the drug per capita. Despite this, Canada imports all of its opiates from other countries.

"With this discovery, we can potentially create plants that will stop production at codeine. We are also working toward the synthesis of codeine and other opiate drugs more efficiently and economically in controlled bioprocessing facilities," says Facchini. "Our discovery now makes it possible to use microorganisms to produce opiate drugs and other important pharmaceuticals." One of the next steps for the research team is using the codeine gene to produce pharmaceuticals in yeast or bacteria.

Jillian Hagel, a post-doctoral scientist in Facchini's lab, was assigned the task of finding these key genes as part of her Ph.D. research. She succeeded using leading-edge genomics techniques that helped her sort through up to 23,000 different genes and ultimately find a gene called codeine O-dementhylase (CODM) that produces the plant enzyme converting codeine into morphine.

"That was an exciting day," Hagel says of her moment of discovery. "We have found the missing pieces that were needed to understand how the opium poppy makes morphine."

Facchini adds: "The evolution of these two genes in a single plant species has had such a huge impact on humanity over the past several thousand years. Our discovery allows this unique genetic power to be harnessed in many important ways."

Story Source:

Adapted from materials provided by University of Calgary, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

  1. Jillian M Hagel, Peter J Facchini. Dioxygenases catalyze the O-demethylation steps of morphine biosynthesis in opium poppy. Nature Chemical Biology, 2010; DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.317

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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Washington, D.C., high school gridders get female coach ... - Deseret News

Posted: 13 Mar 2010 08:15 PM PST

WASHINGTON — The football players at Calvin Coolidge Senior High School, Mayor Adrian Fenty and a room full of cheering staff needed only one word to describe her: coach.

Natalie Randolph, a 29-year-old biology and environmental sciences teacher, was introduced Friday as the coach of the school's Coolidge Colts. She's believed to be the nation's only female head coach of a high school varsity football team.

"While I'm proud to be part of what this all means," Randolph said, "being female has nothing to do with it. I love football. I love football, I love teaching, I love these kids. My being female has nothing to do with my support and respect for my players on the field and in the classroom."

The news conference drew the kind of attention usually reserved for the Washington Redskins and was delayed nearly two hours so Fenty, who is up for re-election this year, could be there and proclaim "Natalie Randolph Day" in the city.

Randolph was chosen from about 15 candidates after the previous coach resigned. The Washington native and University of Virginia track star played six seasons as a receiver for the D.C. Divas of the National Women's Football Association, helping the team win the title in 2006.

She also was an assistant coach from 2006-08 at another D.C. high school, H.D. Woodson, where opposing coaches would throw funny looks her way when told she was on the staff.

Now she's a head coach, ready to dispel naysayers. And she doesn't plan to do it by screaming in kids' faces.

"I'm probably more Tony Dungy-esque," said Randolph, who has a copy of the Super Bowl-winning coach's book. "I'm soft-spoken, so me yelling is not me. I'm going to be me. That's what I do in the classroom. When I get observed, the observers say 'I didn't expect you to be able to handle this class,' but I do what I have to do to get it done."

Randolph's finance, Thomas Byrd, warned that Randolph's polite demeanor could be misleading — "She packs a mean punch," he said — and her Divas teammates were on hand to describe the grit that kept her playing on a severely injured ankle several years ago.

But Randolph will no doubt have to work a bit harder than the average coach to win the respect of players, opposing coaches and the football community at large.

Keith Bulluck, a 10-year NFL veteran, posted on Twitter that he's "not saying it can't be done or shouldn't be done. Football is clearly a mans sport & it's 2 be seen how young men take to their coach being a woman."

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Ala. university fires biology professor accused of ... - Chicago Tribune

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:30 AM PST