Biotechnology: Getting bacteria to perform new functions

WATERLOO, Ont. -- Since the discovery of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), its chemical synthesis, and gene manipulation technology, the field of biotechnology has grown dramatically.

University of Waterloo Prof. Bernard Glick, biology, is a highly regarded biotechnology researcher. His activities involve finding ways to use biotechnology so we can get microorganisms (bacteria) to perform new and highly useful functions. The field is complex; it involves a synthesis of molecular biology (understanding the molecular structures of biological materials), microbiology, plant physiology and biochemistry.

It promises many benefits, however -- new and better medicines, more productive agriculture, new and beneficial ways to clean up the environment, and so on. Currently, Glick's interests include trying to find new ways to use bacteria to get plants to grow better.

"We're trying to understand what the mechanisms are that certain bacteria use to facilitate the growth of plants," he says. "What we are finding -- what makes this work very interesting -- is that there isn't just one mechanism; there are a variety of interconnecting mechanisms involving microorganisms and plants. We are trying to find out how different bacteria affect plants. We do this by altering and modifying the bacteria to see how to get them to have the desired effect on a plant, for example, to stimulate growth."

This research is clearly "fundamental." However, it obviously could be of considerable benefit in terms of "real world" applications -- of benefit to agriculture, to horticulture, of benefit in terms of safeguarding against or remediating environmental damage.

The research activities of Glick and his students and colleagues may some day make it possible for us to use bacteria, a more environment-friendly approach, instead of agricultural chemicals (pesticides and herbicides) to assure better crop yields. "The bacteria are already in the environment, in the soil, and they are already doing the job. So our interest is in finding out how to get them to it better."

Another potential application that could involve the horticulture industry; bacteria might be used to facilitate rooting on the part of plant cuttings. Or, researchers may develop a new technology that could be used to make cut flowers last longer, or one that produces superior plants by stimulating the early development of their root systems.

Glick reports he is even involved in a project in which "we are trying to use microorganisms, with combinations of plants, to get them to remove heavy metals such as lead, nickel, or silver, etc., from the soil. The idea is to find bacteria that will strengthen plant roots so they pick up more of the metal, which will then be taken up by the plants. The plants can then be harvested and the metals extracted, and such an extraction method would be much cheaper than trying to remove metals directly from the soil."

Thus the technology could lead to relatively cheaper cleanup operations. International Nickel and the Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research are supporting this research. He says he and his colleagues, including Profs. George Dixon and Henry Burd, are not the only ones looking into this area; a number of groups in the United States are also doing so.

In further research, he and his associates have found that some bacteria have a mechanism that permits them to survive freezing temperatures and that this mechanism, while not identical to the mechanisms that allow certain plant strains to be frost-resistant, is nonetheless quite similar.

In still a further series of experiments, Glick is trying to use genes from soil bacteria to genetically alter tomato plants, to make them more tolerant of various fungal pathogens. His hope is that this will result in a tomato that, while not resistant to the fungi, will not be severely damaged by them either.

Glick is working on this project with UW Profs. Barbara Moffatt and Marilyn Griffith, and also with Prof. Peter Pauls, University of Guelph. The funding comes from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

He says bacteria act on plants by maintaining a close relationship with them. Bacteria can affect a plant by binding tightly to its root system. Thus it may not be necessary to transform a plant's genetic structure, with gene-splicing technology for instance, to get it to perform in a certain way -- one may simply be able to work with bacteria that are known to bind to its roots to get a plant to grow faster, resist frost, ripen earlier, or whatever.

Some of Glick's findings to date have proved patentable, and in a couple of instances, patents have been applied for. "But many of our findings are not patentable because we are working at a fairly fundamental level and the application of our findings are often in the distant future. Often, it is by no means obvious how the knowledge we acquire is eventually going to be applied."

Fifteen years ago, gene splicing was at an early stage of development. Today, he estimates, the technology is being used in perhaps 20,000 biotechnology labs all over the world, and in several thousand companies. The question scientists face today is not whether the technology can be applied; rather, it is: How are we going to use it? and What problems need to be solved?

"This is one overwhelming reason why it has become important for individual scientists to broaden their perspective and work in teams and groups," Glick says. "You have to know a good deal about a variety of fields, and know about them at a fairly deep level, so you are pretty well forced to work with others. You can't be an expert on everything. Working with others also has advantages in that it motivates you to think broadly about the issues involved."

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Contact: Bernard Glick, (519) 888-4567, ext. 2058

Written by Bob Whitton for the UW News Bureau, (519) 888-4444

Release no. 109 -- July 3, 1997