Biotechnology Update Volume XIV, Issue 1 February 2000

SURE-TECH Lab Provides Animal Feed Analysis and More

In order to make the most of agricultural products, detailed support are also available to customers. Sample reports are analysis must be completed to determine how best to utilize available via e-mail, mail, or fax. A services and fees brochure the products’ benefits. At SURE-TECH Laboratories, chemists is available by contacting the lab. and technicians work with sales and research agribusiness companies to make analysis an easy, cost-effective, and helpful SURE-TECH strives to provide excellent customer support for process. companies across North America. Customers fill out a request form, specifying what they are looking for in the product to be The laboratory, analyzed, and SURE-TECH labs perform tests according to in Fort Dodge, those needs. Iowa, was established in “Today’s unique agribusiness accounts require more custom- 1961 as a feed ized services. SURE-TECH recognizes that greater customer service lab. In contact will help us understand companies’ needs and allow us 1997, the lab to successfully develop an effective program for our custom- took on the ers,” said sales manager, Mike Schultz. name SURE- TECH. SURE- If your company is interested in learning more about SURE- TECH operates TECH or in having an agricultural product analyzed according laboratories in to your needs, contact Mike Schultz at 1-800-205-7703 or Indianapolis, The Lazer droplet and particle size analyzer produces e-mail him at [email protected]. You can send Ind., and Fort a more detailed and precise particle analysis. Photo requests via mail to 2827 8th Avenue South, Fort Dodge, Iowa, courtesy of SURE-TECH Laboratories. Dodge and is 50501. part of the Land O’Lakes Company. It is also a member of the Ð Dena Huisman, ISU Office of Biotechnology Iowa Biotechnology Association and has 23 employees.

The lab analyzes feed ingredients, feeds, and forages as well as News Around ISU soil, manure, and water according to what each individual customer needs. Analysis is also performed on plants, Patricia Swan Retires fertilizers, and other products of the crop and animal produc- As Administrator tion system. Tests can determine the levels of mycotoxins, particle sizes, and minerals. Patricia B. Swan has retired from her administrative duties Detailed reports based on analysis results can include the as ISU’s vice provost for amounts of minerals, protein, fat, and fiber found in the research and advanced studies product. They can be sent confidentially through e-mail, fax, and dean of the Graduate or mail. College. Swan announced last summer that, at the end of In addition to analysis, data interpretation and technical ISU’s fall semester, she would begin a one-year leave of In this issue absence to work on a history of Patricia Swan SURE-TECH Laboratories p. 1 the biomedical sciences at Vice Provost Swan p. 1 Summer Biotech Workshops/Institutes p. 2 Vanderbilt University, Nashville, IBA Scholarships p. 3 (continues on page 2) New Biotech Faculty Member p. 3 DNA Analyzer and Cell Software p. 3 Grants for Biotech Research p. 3 Technologies Available for Licensing p. 4 Helping businesses become their best. 2 | Biotechnology Update

Swan – continued from page 1 The center has two fully-equipped teaching laboratories. Located in the Molecular Biology Building on the ISU campus, Tenn. She plans to complete a book about the history of the the center will provide year-round educational opportunities ISU Research Foundation when she returns to ISU the for K-12 teachers and students through on-site workshops. following year. Extension educators, adult groups, and industry professionals can also benefit from educational events held on-site. Dis- For 10 of its 16 years, ISU’s biotechnology program was tance learning technologies planned for the center will serve administered by Swan. During the last decade, the $30.5 students, educators, agricultural and business communities, million Molecular Biology Building was constructed and a and the public throughout Iowa. $500,000 Biotechnology Outreach Education Center was established. There have been 51 new biotechnology faculty For more information about scheduling a biotechnology- hired by ISU during Swan’s tenure. The number of biotechnol- related educational event in the new center, please contact Lori ogy graduate student fellowships awarded to exceptional Miller of the ISU Office of Biotechnology at the address given students rose to 93 during the past 10 years. in the box on page 3. ______Other biotechnology accomplishments include the addition of new biotechnology instrumentation facilities, an increase in Summer Bioethics Institutes Scheduled for the amount of seed money awarded to new research, and North Carolina and Portugal increased support of ISU’s bioethics program. The university has initiated a search for Swan’s successor. Two Iowa State University Model Bioethics Institutes are scheduled for the summer of 2000 – one at North Carolina Sharing the Science State University in Raleigh and one at the Fundacao Luso- Americano Developmento in Lisbon, Portugal. Each institute is designed to help life sciences faculty learn basic methods, Summer Biotechnology Education principles, and teaching strategies in bioethics so they can help Workshops at ISU their students address the ethical problems associated with their future profession. Five biotechnology education workshops for teachers and other interested persons are scheduled for June and July this Tenured and tenure-track life sciences faculty from colleges summer at ISU’s new Biotechnology Outreach Education and universities around the world are invited to complete an Center in Ames. (See next story.) Stipends, graduate credits, application form for the institute of their choice. Faculty who and staff development credits are available for each workshop. are selected to attend will receive free bioethics classroom materials, lunches, and stipends toward their travel and living The workshops to be taught include a basic biotechnology expenses. More information and application forms are workshop for beginners on June 12-16, a workshop for family available on the World Wide Web at http://www.biotech. and consumer sciences instructors on June 20-22, a workshop iastate.edu/Bioethics/Institute/Bioethicsinstintro.html. The for agriculture education instructors on June 27-29, and an application deadline is March 1, 2000. advanced workshop on July 10-14. New this year is a July 18- 20 workshop for teams of teachers of grades 4-12 who wish to The North Carolina institute is being sponsored by the implement biotechnology across the grades in their schools. National Agricultural Biotechnology Council. The Portugal Each workshop emphasizes hands-on laboratory experience institute is funded by major grants from the Fundacao Luso- with biotechnology techniques. Americano Developmento, the U.S. National Science Founda- tion, the European Union DGXII, and Iowa State University’s For more information, please contact Lori Miller of the Office Office of Biotechnology and Bioethics Program. Other of Biotechnology at the address in the box on page 3. contributors include the University of Lisbon Centro de ______Biologia Ambiental and Centro de Folosofia.

Biotechnology Outreach Education Center The institutes are part of a series that began in 1991 at Iowa Completed State University. For more information, please contact Gary Comstock, Coordinator, Bioethics Program, 402 Catt Hall, ISU’s new Biotechnology Outreach Education Center is ready Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, phone 515-294- to help Iowans explore the science of biotechnology. With the 0054, fax 515-294-0780, or e-mail [email protected]. January 24 arrival of Mike Zeller, ISU’s biotechnology outreach education coordinator, the center will be fully operational. The new center was funded by companies, organizations, private individuals, and by Iowa State University. February 2000 | 3

IBA Will Fund Scholarships for Science Fair electrophoresis methodology employed in the analyzer allows shorter run times, reduces the cost per sample, and eliminates The Iowa Biotechnology Association (IBA) will be offering one the need to pour gels. or more scholarships at the Iowa State Science and Technology Fair to be held March 31-April 1 at ISU’s in Purchased primarily for large-scale sequencing projects, the Ames. The IBA is a group of companies and other organiza- analyzer will be reserved for samples submitted in a 96-well tions related to the biotechnology industry in Iowa. An IBA format. After racks of samples are placed in the analyzer, it scholarship for the top biological sciences project was offered can automatically load and run four to six sets of 96-well racks for the first time at the 1999 science fair. The award was in a 24-hour period with little or no intervention from the $1,000 to be used at an Iowa college or university or $500 if user. Data collection and analysis are automatic, with the used at an out-of-state institution. resulting files available for direct transfer to a database for further analysis and reporting to either a Macintosh or Any young person in grades seven through twelve, with an Windows NT® environment. interest in science who attends a public, private, or parochial school in Iowa or select regions of surrounding states is For more information, contact facility manager Gary Polking eligible to enter a project in the Iowa State Science and at 515-294-1813 or send e-mail to polking@ iastate.edu. Technology Fair. For more information about this year’s ______science fair, please visit the fair’s homepage at http://www. public.iastate.edu/~isstf/. Software for Cell and Hybridoma Facility Data

Welcome to ISU Several software packages are now available for the off-line analysis of the flow cytometry data generated at ISU’s Cell and Hybridoma Facility. Clients can utilize these packages on the Richard J. Martin Heads Biomedical Sciences facility computers or download available freeware for conve- nient data analysis in their labs or offices. Available software Richard J. Martin, professor and programs include FlowJoTM and CellQuestTM for Macintosh chair of the Department of users, the Windows compatible freeware package WinMDITM, Biomedical Sciences, is one of FCS ExpressTM, WinListTM, ModFitTM, and MulticycleTM. Some of the newest members of the these software packages are protected by a hardware lock or biotechnology faculty at ISU. code number. Staff in the facility are available to teach clients Before joining ISU, Martin was a how to use the software as needed. professor of veterinary pharma- cology in the Department of For more information, call Donghui Cheng at 515-294-8504, Preclinical Veterinary Sciences, send e-mail to [email protected], or visit the facility web page at R.D.S.V.S., at The University of www.biotech.iastate.edu/facilities/CELLHYB/homepage.htm. Edinburgh in Scotland. Dollars for Research Martin’s research interests Richard J. Martin include the physiology and The following are some of the grants recently awarded for biotechnology- related research at ISU. For more information about establishing research pharmacology of nematode ion-channels. He is also studying relationships with ISU biotechnology researchers, please contact the the mode of action of and mechanisms of resistance to Office of Biotechnology. See the address in the box below. anthelmintic drugs using electrophysiological techniques, including patch-clamp. Braun, Edward. Plant Pathology. Establishment of a Genetical- (continued on page 4) Richard Martin may be contacted at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, 2008 Veterinary Medicine, ISU, Ames, Iowa State University Biotechnology Update Volume XIV, Issue 1 February 2000 Iowa 50011-1250, phone 515-294-2470, fax 515-294-2315, or Published six times a year by the ISU Office of Biotechnology, 1210 e-mail [email protected]. Molecular Biology Building, Ames, Iowa 50011-3260. To subscribe, telephone 515-294-9818, FAX 515-294-4629, or send an e-mail message to [email protected]. Homepage at: http://www.biotech.iastate.edu. Instrumentation Facilities C. F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Director of Biotechnology Walter R. Fehr High Throughput DNA Analyzer Editor Glenda D. Webber ® A new high throughput ABI Prism 3700 DNA Analyzer Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability, or status manufactured by PE Applied Biosytems has been added to the as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may DNA Sequencing and Synthesis Facility at ISU. The capillary contact the Director of Affirmative Action, 318 , 515-294-7612. 4 | Iowa State University Biotechnology Update

Dollars – continued from page 3 Jergens, Albert. Veterinary Clinical Sciences. Altered Mucosal Th-1/Th-2 Cytokine Expression in Canine Inflammatory Bowel ly and Physically Anchored EST Resource for Barley Genomics. Disease. Ralston Purina Company. Clemson University. Mallapragada, Surya. Chemical Engineering. Biodegradable Brendel, Volker. Zoology and Genetics. Maize Gene Discovery, Micro and Nanopatterned Polymer Substrates for Nerve Regen- Sequencing, and Phenotypic Analysis. Stanford University. eration. National Science Foundation.

Cheville, Norman. Veterinary Pathology. Development and Roth, James. Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medi- Testing of Vaccines Derived from Glucose-6-P Dehydrogenase cine. Antigen Specific T Lymphocyte Responses to Type 1 and Gene Deletion Mutants of Mycobacterium avium, subspecies Type 2 BVD Viruses. U.S. Department of Agriculture. paratuberculosis. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sebranek, Joseph. Animal Science. Characterization of Hargrove, Mark. Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Antimicrobials and Risk Assessment of Listeria Monocytogenes on Biology. Structure and Function of Nonsymbiotic Plant Hemoglo- Hot Dogs. U.S. Department of Agriculture. bins. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Shoemaker, Randy. Agronomy. A Functional Genomics Harris, D. L. Microbiology. Reduction of Salmonella by Program for Soybean. University of Illinois. Bacteriophage Treatment. National Pork Producers Council.

New Technologies Available from ISU Isolation and Characterization of Starch Debranching Enzyme of the Pullulanase Type (ZPU1) . . . This invention shows that the ZPU1 enzyme from maize is active in starch debranching similar to the pullulanase enzymes currently used in corn starch processing. Possible applications include starch production, detergent additives, brewing, and starch alteration in transgenic organisms. Reference number 02483.

Enhancement of Baculovirus Dissemination within the Host . . . Improved performance of baculoviruses as pesticides through enzymes that degrade the basement membranes of insect hosts. Reference number 02176.

Black Cutworm Control by AiMNPV . . . A newly-characterized nucleopolyhedrovirus that kills black cutworms after be- ing ingested by the larval stage. Possible application as an alternative to chemical insecticides. Reference number 02426.

Iowa State University is seeking industrial partners to develop and/or commercialize the above technologies. Interested parties should contact the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, 310 Lab of Mechanics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011-2131; Tel: 515-294-3893; FAX: 515-294-0778; E-mail: [email protected]. Please cite reference number. Full text of these technology descriptions can be found at http://

www.public.iastate.edu/~isurf.

Ames, Iowa 50011-3260 Iowa Ames,

Iowa State University State Iowa

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