January 17, 2007

German company aims to use feed with GM peas to curb hog infections

Genetically modified peas could be used to fight intestinal infections in pigs, according to Novoplant, a small German enterprise involved in plant biotechnology.

The company is currently conducting field trials in Gatersleben, Germany.

Since the EU banned antibiotics in feed, the feed industry has been looking for new products to replace them. The industry is currently seeking to use plant-based systems for vaccines or medications.

Novoplant's goal is to create feed plants by introducing suitable genes in the plant to produce antibodies against the bacteria. If these GM-plants are added to the pig feed, the animal would absorb the antibodies. According to Novoplant, the antibodies in the peas cause a "passive vaccination" and support the natural immune system of the pig.

According to managing director, Dieter Falkenburg, the first of these new feed additives should be marketable by 2010.

The peas have been modified to produce specific antigens that would bind on the surface of bacteria such as

E coli. The anti-bodies are formed only in the seeds of the peas, not in the rest of the plant.