Media Contacts:
Dr. Charles Opperman, 919/515-6699
Dr. Steve Lommel, 919/515-6990
Dave Caldwell, Communication Services, 919/513-3127

Dec. 11, 2002

Philip Morris USA Provides $17.6 Million for Tobacco Genome Mapping

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

North Carolina State University and Philip Morris USA have reached an agreement under which the tobacco company will provide $17.6 million over 4 1/2 years to fund a project to map the genome of tobacco.

The Tobacco Genome Initiative will be carried out in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State and will take advantage of the college's rapidly emerging expertise in genomic sciences, said Dr. Steven Lommel, assistant vice chancellor for research. The contract is the largest ever signed for a research effort in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and among the largest for the university.

"This initiative marks a milestone in NC State's emergence as a national leader in genomic research, and opens a new chapter in our understanding of the tobacco genome," said NC State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. "By placing all new information from this study into the public domain, scientists, farmers, businesses and students worldwide will benefit from NC State's discoveries."

"The idea is to make a physical map of the tobacco genome and to sequence as many genes as possible," said Dr. Charles Opperman, professor of plant pathology and genetics. Opperman will lead the project.

"Tobacco is an important model system. It's used to study other plants that may be more difficult to work with," Opperman added. "The data derived from this project will be important to plant scientists working with a number of other plants, studying how other species develop, yield, resist pests and pathogens, and many other areas."

With completion of the project, tobacco will be among a handful of plants whose genomes have been mapped. The genomes of rice and a plant called Arabidopsis have been mapped, while mapping the genome of corn is well under way, Lommel said. Arabidopsis is a weed that is a member of the mustard family. It is often used as a model plant.

"We hope to sequence over 90 percent of tobacco's genes," said Opperman. "This does not mean we'll know what all the genes do, although in some cases we will be able to determine gene function."

It's not clear now many genes a tobacco plant has, Opperman added, although it is thought tobacco has between 25,000 and 50,000 genes.

Both Opperman and Lommel said the information produced by the project should be valuable to scientists working with a range of other plants. They pointed out that plants such as tomatoes, potatoes and peppers are relatives of tobacco, so much that is learned from the Tobacco Genome Initiative may be directly applicable to gaining a better understanding of how these tobacco relatives function.

"The genome map hands you the keys to do a whole range of experiments," Opperman said. He added that knowing where a gene lies in the genome often provides clues as to how the gene works and what it does.

"And we'll probably discover novel genes during the project," he said, adding that the project may aid in understanding how plants and other organisms evolve.

At the same time, the project is likely to provide information that may lead to genetic engineering of tobacco for alternative uses. Tobacco is thought to be a promising candidate for molecular farming. It may be possible to change the genetic makeup of tobacco plants so that the plants produce valuable chemicals or drugs. The plants would then be harvested and processed for these chemicals or drugs.

While the Tobacco Genome Initiative will be headquartered in Opperman's laboratory, it will take advantage of relatively new facilities in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences such as the Genome Research Laboratory, a 4,000-square-foot, $3 million lab on NC State's Centennial Campus that makes available to college researchers the latest genomic technology.

Opperman added that Orion Genomics, a St. Louis, Mo., company, will also play a key role in the project. NC State has contracted with Orion for use of the company's proprietary Gene Thresher technology that identifies gene-rich regions of a genome. Only about 1 percent of the tobacco genome is thought to contain genes, so the technology will help narrow the search for genes.

The signing of the agreement comes at the conclusion of a year-long pilot study.

"We developed some of the tools we'll need for the project," said Opperman. "We tried out sequencing strategies, developed some physical infrastructure and data analysis tools. The first year was basically a feasibility study. Could we scale up and do this? The answer was 'yes.'"

- caldwell -