UNCG RESEARCH LEADS TO
FIRST BIOTECHNOLOGY FIRM

GREENSBORO - Research done by a biology professor at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is leading to the creation of the first biotechnology company to grow out of UNCG laboratories.

Transgreenix, Inc. is being formed to further develop the research of Dr. C. Neal Stewart, an assistant professor in UNCG’s Biology Department. Using green fluorescent protein (GFP) isolated from jellyfish, Stewart has been able to develop research that could lead to healthier, more abundant food and the development of plants that could assist in the location of buried land mines.

 “What we have come up with could save time, money and lives,” Stewart said. “Our hope is to take the information from years of research and refine it for practical applications.”

Although plans for Transgreenix are in the early developmental stages, the University is excited about the company’s future and is working to develop its relationship to UNCG, said Chancellor Patricia Sullivan.

”We are working hard at UNCG to conduct the kind of research that can lead to patents and the creation of new businesses and jobs in the Triad,” Sullivan said. “This initiative is part of the University’s strategic plan.”

Stewart has conducted his research using GFP, which glows green under ultraviolet or blue light.  A gene encoding GFP can be transferred into a plant along with genes designed to change the plant’s performance. Genes that can make the plant resistant to insects or disease can also be transferred to weeds that tend to grow alongside the plants. These weeds could develop into what Stewart calls “weedier weeds.” GFP tagging would allow farmers to someday use a detector to determine if such transfer has occurred.

Before GFP, detecting altered DNA required extensive lab work that required tissue sampling. The GFP tagging system is applicable in the field and is instant.

GFP genes could also be transferred into plants to detect traces of TNT, which leaks from land mines. This could lead to the safest, surest way of locating land mines and allow them to be destroyed.

GFP could have dozens of other uses, Stewart said. That’s where Transgreenix will come in.

“Once the technology is refined, there are a lot of opportunities for rapid growth,” Stewart said. “This technology is revolutionary.”

Genetically modified crops are becoming increasingly important to this country’s agriculture, Stewart said. Over half the soybean, and over one quarter of the 1999 corn and cotton crops were genetically modified for resistance to certain insects and herbicides.

Since these crops are the cash crops in North Carolina, farmers in this state are particularly interested in research related to genetically engineered crops.

Because this is the first start-up company using UNCG research, particulars about the University’s relationship with the company are still being developed, said University Counsel Lucien “Skip” Capone III.

“We are exploring ways of working with Transgreenix and developing what we hope will be mutually beneficial,” Capone said.

Plans call for Transgreenix to be located in Greensboro with Stewart serving as lead scientist. UNCG alumnus, Eric Button, president and CEO of a Winston-Salem-based biotechnology company, will serve as chairman of Transgreenix and help guide the company’s direction in its initial stages of development.

Button, who got his bachelor’s and MBA degrees from UNCG, is a veteran of several biotechnology firms, notably Hybritech, a San Diego firm that developed the PSA (prostrate specific antigen) prostate cancer test. He also holds a master’s degree in plant genetics from the University of British Columbia.

Stewart, a Winston-Salem native, earned a Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University.  Stewart has been on faculty at UNCG since 1995.  He is an internationally recognized expert in plant biotechnology and has presented his research findings all over the world.
 

Back to Latest News Releases
Return to the University News Service Home Page