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Scientists discover benefits
of plant gene
By Matt Lindner
Staff
Writer
In the future, production of plastics will be more
environmentally friendly and will be able to be made without using up
the limited supply of fossil fuels.
By cloning a gene from the Arabadiopsis plant,
Clint Chapple, professor of biochemistry, and Knut Meyer of DuPont and
Co. have found a way for materials to produce plastic monomers in crops
without harming the plants themselves.
The pair found this gene by doing research into
a biochemical pathway that plants use to make components of their cell
walls, as well as compounds that protect themselves against ultraviolet
light and pathogens. By finding a mutant gene that was unable to produce
those compounds, they were able to track down that gene and isolate
it. Petroleum is currently used to produce a wide range of household
products, including nearly all plastics. However, it has strict limits
when it comes to what chemicals it can produce. Scientists are excited
about this new discovery because plants are much more versatile than
petroleum, said Chapple.
"Plants are really amazing chemical factories
that produce a mind-boggling number of interesting chemicals,"
Chapple said. "We can exploit that ability by using genomics to
identify the genes required to make those compounds and by using biotechnology
to insert the genes into crop plants."
At the time, it is difficult to say what kind of
effect this will have on fossil fuel consumption, largely because the
project is still in its early stages. The main problem now is trying
to get the plants to produce enough plastic monomers in order to make
the process economical. Currently, petroleum is more economical because
of the lack of monomer production from the plants.
This new research is part of DuPont’s new
"Plants as Plastics" campaign. Meyer said DuPont can be thought
of as a company that produces polymers and is constantly looking for
new methods to build new plastics.
"DuPont produces nylon and many related products,"
said Meyer. "But some monomers are difficult to make from petroleum
using traditional chemistry, so we’re looking at monomers produced
in higher levels in plants. Dr. Chapple’s work helps us stabilize
these monomers in plants and produce them at higher levels."
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