Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
“swine flu”) has emerged and quickly spread all over the world. The science
of fundamental virology will always play an important role in medicine.
By the 1950s, researchers had begun thinking of viruses as tools in
addition to pathogens. Bacteriophages, for example, played a key role in
the development of molecular biotechnology. Bacteriophage genomes and
components of the protein expression machinery have been widely utilized
as tools for understanding fundamental cellular processes such as nucleic
acid replication, transcription, and translation. Virus genomes are small
and the genetic elements that control expression of the genome are highly
efficient and multifunctional. On the basis of these properties, several viruses
have been exploited as expression systems in biotechnology. Several cloning
vectors are derivatives of bacteriophages, and typical examples include the
Escherichia coli
l
and M13. Various phage-encoded promoters (DNA
sequences that facilitate transcription of DNA into RNA) have been utilized
to regulate gene expression. An overview of tools used for molecular biology
can be found in
phages
, by Sambrook and
Russell (2001). The use of viruses as cloning and expression vectors is not
restricted to phages; plant viruses, insect viruses, and mammalian systems
have also been engineered for these purposes. Some of these systems are
discussed in Chapter 3.
Another early application evaluated was
Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual
, the use
of bacteriophages to combat bacterial infections. With the development of
antibiotics (compounds that kill bacteria), which have proven to be more
efficient and comprehensive compared with bacteriophage therapy, few
efforts were made toward its further development. Other applications include
bacteriophage-mediated microbial control
bacteriophage therapy
(applied in the food industry) and
phage display technologies
that allow screening for biological protein-binding
partners. More recent developments include the use of bacteriophages for
vaccine
approaches. Developments in using
bacteriophages for biotechnological applications were reviewed by Clark and
March (2006) and Marks and Sharp (2000).
In the 1970s many efforts focused on the production of virus-like particles
(VLPs) for use in anti-viral vaccines (reviewed in Garcea & Gissmann, 2004;
Grgacic & Anderson, 2006; Ludwig & Wagner, 2007). A VLP is a particle
consisting of the capsid but lacking the genome. A VLP is the replication-
deficient and thus non-infectious counterpart of a VNP. Chimeric VLPs and
VNPs have also been designed. A chimera is a genetically modified version
of a naturally occurring particle or cell. In vaccine development, chimeras
are used as carriers or platforms for the presentation of antigenic sequences
(sequences that induce an immune response) of other pathogens (reviewed
in Garcea & Gissmann, 2004; Grgacic & Anderson, 2006; Ludwig & Wagner,
production and
gene delivery
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