ISU granted permission to plant biopharmaceutical crops

Monday, June 13, 2005 9:37 AM CDT

MIDDLETOWN, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University has receive approval from the USDA to plant a biopharmaceutical corn field near this eastern Iowa town.

The field trial, which will be grown on less than one-quarter of an acre of land leased from the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, is part of ISU's work to evaluate the safety of such plants for production of proteins for pharmaceuticals and industrial products, the university said in a statement.

Planting is expected to being the week of June 13.

The proteins in the corn are meant to protect humans and animals from diarrhea caused by bacterial infections, the university said. The field trial will be used to find efficient methods to extract and purify the proteins. Use in animal feeding will also be studied.

The statement said the proposed trial meets or exceeds all of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regulated plant field trial requirements.

The plot will be planted 1.2 miles from commercial corn to prevent cross pollination. It also will be planted 28 days later than the nearest commercial corn, according to the statement.

There will be five visits from APHIS inspectors to the plot this growing season and two additional visits the following growing season to check for ``volunteer plants,'' or plants that re-emerge.

ISU will bag the corn tassels, pollinate corn plants by hand and harvest and transport the grain on the ear _ husks intact _ to further safety measures beyond standard APHIS requirements. The university also will provide around-the-clock security camera surveillance of the site, it said in the statement.

The USDA National Research Initiative, Iowa State University Plant Sciences Institute and the ISU Research Foundation are funding the research.

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