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| Microbiologist Doug Bannerman and visiting graduate student Manuela Rinaldi collect milk samples from a cow with mastitis. The cow was treated with CD14 derived from tobacco plants Photo: Stephen Ausmus/USDA |
Scientists claim that this method could be cheaper and more effective than conventional treatments for Escherichia coli, the bacteria that cause the disease. They say that antibiotics can be expensive and there are concerns over the emergence of antibiotic-resistance. Mastitis is also expensive. It is estimated to cost dairy farmers an estimated $2bn from incapacitated cows and milk that cannot be sold.
Researchers from the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) say that the virus can be introduced into a host plant. The plant then produces a therapeutic protein called CD14, which can be extracted and used to treat the disease.
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| Plant pathologist Rosemarie Hammond and molecular biologist Lev Nemchinov (right) point out virus symptoms on plants containing the CD14 gene to molecular biologist Dante Zarlenga Photo: Stephen Ausmus/USDA |
CD14 is present in a cow's mammary glands at low levels and is known to help the immune system fight infection. The researchers believe that boosting CD14 in the milk will enhance protection against E coli.
The researchers infused CD14 into one of a test cow's four teats, which were exposed to E coli. Results showed that fewer bacteria were recovered from the teat that received CD14 than those that did not.
Dr Rosemarie Hammond, a plant pathologist at ARS said that the process helped to "neutralize and clear toxins produced by the bacteria, lessening the chances of an excessive immune response".
CD14 was derived from tobacco plants injected with laboratory-produced RNA of the potato virus carrying the protein. The ARS plans to work with a commercial partner to produce large volumes of plant-made CD14, and to determine the most effective dosing levels.
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