Published on December 23, 2005

Funds to the tune of Bt45 million from the National Centre of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec) have been granted to three biotechnology-related research projects, in order to encourage research and take advantage of the country’s existing expertise.

The three projects include the study of genes involved in the medical condition thalassemia (Bt18 million), the use of biotechnology to develop varieties of mung beans (Bt15 million) and a study of signal transductional processes among living cells through mathematical modelling on computers (Bt12 million).

Biotec director Morakot Tanticharoen said the grants would be for five years, after which it was hoped the country would start to see beneficial results.

Four years ago, Biotec initiated a project called Grants for Professional Researchers. So far, the centre has offered funding support to seven projects worth a total of Bt126 million.

The first project, a study of genes in people with thalassemia, is being conducted by a research team at Mahidol University’s Thalassemia Research Centre. Project director Suthat Fucharoen said the project studies DNA sequences in thalassemia patients.

“We need to understand the factors influencing thalassemia. Sometimes patients’ relatives have different symptoms, and this is interesting to us,” he said.

He said the team would study the DNA sequences of 1,000 patients and record their patterns, comparing those who exhibit mild levels of thalassemia with those who have stronger symptoms.

“This will help us understand which genes in which positions cause different symptoms,” said Suthat.

The study, he added, was expected to help doctors predict the symptoms and strength of the disease, so they could make better decisions about treatment. Meanwhile, the team hopes to use this knowledge to develop a diagnosis kit for the disease.

Around 1 per cent of Thais are affected by the disease, while 30-40 per cent are thalassemia carriers.

Suthat said the research would eventually lead to the discovery of a new technique for manipulating genes that are related to thalassemia to lessen the severity of the disease.

With agriculture a foundation of the country’s development, the second project involves research into using biotechnology to improve Thai mung-bean breeds. Since mung beans are an important part of the economy, a team from Kasetsart University’s Agronomy Department is studying the bean’s genomes, in order to find molecular markers. Peerasak Srinives, head of the research team, said markers would allow researchers to understand the bean’s DNA sequences, which is important for further breeding.

“We’re developing a technique to find molecular markers, and this will help us select suitable breeds that can be parents for improved breeds,” said Peerasak. The team hopes they will eventually develop two new mung-bean breeds that can offer higher productivity, resist disease and grow in different environments.

Peerasak said the mung-bean study would be a foundation for the team to study other economically important plants for improvements in breeding.

The third research project studies communication between living cells in the human body.

Project leader Yongwimon Lenbury, from Mahidol University’s Faculty of Science, said the project involved transductional processes of living cells, in order to understand how each one makes signals to communicate with other cells, thus enabling the body and its organs to respond correctly to particular situations.

The study will lead to the development of mathematical modelling and computational techniques that can simulate how human cells work.

“This will be important information for doctors as they examine diseases, especially those related to the nervous system,” she said.

pongpen@nationgroup.com.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation

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