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BIV Magazines: LifeSciences 2008 Genomics: Subatomic shepherds Alan Winter and his Genome BC colleagues aren’t content to limit their scope to health care. They’re also overseeing projects to demonstrate how genomics can help industries like fisheries, forestry, agriculture and mining By Jan-Christian Sorensen A burgeoning, world-renowned biotechnology sector has turned B.C. into a big player on the subatomic scene. Credit this well-deserved international reputation to the researchers at the BC Cancer Agency’s Genome Sciences Centre and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, which, in 2003, created a stir by sequencing the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus and then collaborating on an accelerated vaccine. “The World Health Organization called it a ‘stunning achievement,’” said Dr. Alan Winter, president and CEO of Genome BC, a not-for-profit research organization established in Vancouver with the aim of cultivating a successful life sciences sector in the province. “Many genomics centres were trying to sequence the SARS virus so we could understand what the virus was, did it look and act like other viruses – like influenza, for example – and to understand better how to deal with it. “I think it was the first time since I joined Genome BC in 2001 that the public really understood that knowing the molecular level of something like a virus really did help, and I think they realized (at that point) that it was important to invest in science to be able to respond to some of these issues.” Even Winter wasn’t aware of the impact the SARS discovery made on an international level until he travelled to Singapore that same year. “I happened to be going up the elevator and one of the people in the elevator with me asked me where I was from,” said Winter. “I said ‘Vancouver,’ and they said, ‘Oh, that’s where they sequenced the SARS virus.’” He laughs: “Of course, they didn’t know I had anything to do with it.” Only a year later, B.C.’s research community did it again – successfully deciphering the avian influenza [H7N3 strain] genome. There’s no indication that the pace has slowed – Genome BC-funded genomics projects either currently underway or moving toward the clinical-trial phase include: diagnosis and evaluation of mental retardation; avoiding adverse drug reactions in children; detecting and combating emerging infectious diseases; identifying genes in early-stage cancers; and developing biomarkers and therapies for iron-metabolism disorders. Researchers in the United States were also recently able to sequence the genome of the 1918 “Spanish Flu” pandemic from preserved samples of the virus, in turn creating a vaccine which could help to quell another outbreak. Last spring, Winter – along with colleague Dr. Aubrey Tingle, president and CEO of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research – was singled out for the prestigious Leadership Award at the BC Biotechnology Awards, presented annually by LifeSciences British Columbia to recognize contributions to the development of the provincial biotechnology sector. Winter and his colleagues in the life sciences sector aren’t content to limit their scope to applications exclusive to the healthcare sector, however; Genome BC is also shepherding projects intended to demonstrate how genomics can also pay dividends in industries like fisheries, forestry, agriculture, mining, bioenergy and the environment. One of those projects involves mapping the genome of the mountain pine beetle that has devastated more than 15 million hectares of woodlands in B.C.’s interior. “We have discovered that with the mountain pine beetle there are really three genomes interacting: the genome of the beetle, the genome of the tree and what actually kills the tree – a fungus left after the beetle does its eating,” added Winter. “Those three genomes interact to kill the tree, so part of our job is to ask ‘Could you interrupt the interaction of those genomes somehow so that it wouldn’t have such a devastating effect,’ or ‘Could we next time plant trees that have a genetic disposition to be better able to deal with pests [like the mountain pine beetle].” Another project is aimed at identifying the genome of the human pathogen Cryptococcus gattii, a fungus once endemic to Australia that has since been discovered on the southeast coast of Vancouver Island, as well as the Lower Mainland. Winter considers the crown jewel of B.C.’s genomics research-and-development platforms the state-of-the-art University of Victoria-Genome BC Proteomics Centre on Vancouver Island. Proteomics – effectively, the next step in molecular biology beyond genomics – involves the large-scale study and cataloguing of the myriad proteins within cells. The director of the centre is Dr. Christoph Borchers. “Proteins really are the workhorses of a living organism, and understanding proteins tells you a lot about what’s going on inside that organism,” said Winter. “For example, Mad Cow disease [bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE] is very difficult to detect, but at the early stages, there are proteins that can identify it. Those proteins are one in a million, though, so you’ve got to have a very sensitive system to be able to do that, and that’s partly what makes the Proteomics Centre such a superb facility. “You have to have world-class technology to be able to compete these days. If we’re going to keep developing a strong life sciences cluster here, it really depends on having excellent people and excellent facilities and that’s what we’re trying to invest in. We are putting probably the largest single investment in a targeted R&D area in B.C.” • |
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