Genetic Engineering: Possible New Approach To Purifying Drinking Water, Thanks To Genetic Tool

A genetic tool used by medical researchers may also be used in a novel approach to remove harmful microbes and viruses from drinking water.

Duke University engineers have demonstrated that short strands of genetic material could successfully target a matching portion of a gene in a common fungus found in water and make it stop working. If this new approach can be perfected, the researchers believe that it could serve as the basis for a point-of-use device to help solve the problem of safe drinking water in Third World countries without water treatment facilities.

The relatively new technology, known as RNA interference (RNAi), makes use of short snippets of genetic material that match — like a lock and key — a corresponding segment of a gene in the target. When these snippets enter a cell and attach to the corresponding segment, they can inhibit or block the action of the target gene. This approach is increasingly being used as a tool in biomedical research, but has not previously been applied to environmental issues.

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In addition to helping solve drinking water issues in underdeveloped countries, this new approach could also address some of the drawbacks (costs, smell/taste, harmful by-products) associated with chlorination and ultraviolet (UV) treatment of drinking water in more developed nations.

Sara Morey, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Claudia Gunsch, assistant professor of civil engineering at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, who carried out the experiments, presented the results of her experiments [1] on 3 June 2008, during the annual meeting of the American Society of Microbiology in Boston.

Sara Morey, Student, sara.morey [at] duke.edu

Dr. Claudia Gunsch, , Environmental Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory, Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, ckgunsch [at] @duke.edu

[1] S. Morey, S. and Gunsch, C. (2008). Gene silencing of Catechol-2,3-Dioxygenase in Pichia pastoris and Pseudomonas putida. Abstract

See also: Duke University Pratt School of Engineering – Environmental Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory – Antisense RNA and RNA Interference

Source: Richard Merritt, Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, 5 June 2008