GREENHOUSES could be the drugs factories of the future, churning out human
proteins to treat diseases such as dwarfism.
Plant cells are packed with chloroplasts—tiny capsules which harness
energy from sunlight and have their own DNA. Scientists at biotech giant
Monsanto have successfully inserted the gene for somatotrophin, a human hormone
that is used to treat dwarfism, into the chloroplasts of tobacco plants (
Nature Biotechnology, vol 18, p 333).
Somatotrophin is normally produced by genetically modified bacteria in
fermenters, a complicated and costly process. Plants, by contrast, are cheap to
grow.
