Case study 05

Anti-sense tobacco

You are the research director of the Healthy Cigarette Company that wishes to produce a low nicotine tobacco. You have been asked to present to the board a description of a gene silencing strategy to bring this about. The contents of the report are at your discretion but it should include an analysis of the synthetic pathways, a description of the genes that will be targeted and the mechanism of gene silencing that will be used. You should also include details of the constructs, vectors and transformation system to be used and how these will be tested. Clear explanations of how gene expression will be assayed and an analysis of the phenotypic consequences of interfering with nicotine synthesis should be discussed. Unless directly relevant to specific gene isolation or analytical procedures, it is not necessary to include details of standard molecular or tissue culture techniques. The proposal should be fully risk assessed. The board would welcome any further information on the perceived future for the tobacco industry and possible alternative products.

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Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Case study 05.

Case study 05