Introduction of inorganic chemicals to a plant host

[master_tremagne]

This is my first post in this forum and since I don't think this is pseudoscience, and I couldn't find another category I would consider more appropriate, I decided to post here. If this is the wrong category, then I apologize.

 

I am by no means a scientist, more of a budding herbalist, or an aspiring horticulturist, what have you, but my primary interest lies in the genetic engineering of new plants- specifically, as per my background in herbal medicine, plants which may revolutionize the medical field.

 

Basically, this is an inquisitive post. I am wondering if there is a shortcut, so to speak, to making this happen: an alternative to genetically engineering a plant from scratch, using protein synthesis, enzyme and chemo- treatments, somatic fusion, and so on, which would require an extensive knowledge of plant anatomy and biochemistry. Like I said, I am by no means a scientist, (at least not yet) and so biochemistry is a bit above my range at the moment.

 

My idea, something that has been at the back of my mind for several months now, is that it might be possible to infuse, so to speak, a chemical into a plant's vascular system or into preexisting nutrient storage through natural uptake processes, or during the germination process, and then clone said plant.

 

Again, I am in no way experienced with this level of botany and I am really just wondering if this idea is entirely off the wall and/or impossible.

[hypervalent_iodine]

If the medicinal component of the plant is the chemical you're injecting it with, why put it in the plant in the first place? Depending on how expensive or difficult to make the chemical is, it seems a bit pointless. Regardless, what you need to be able to do is to modify the plant in such a way that it is able to produce the chemical that you want it to produce independently with its own machinery; injecting a plant with a compound you want the plant to produce in subsequent generations won't achieve that. Out of curiosity, what kind of chemical were you looking at?

 

Honestly, I think you would be better spending your time reading up on a little about genetics, biochemistry and chemistry before you waste your time and money on this type of venture. Plodding though experimentation blind to the concepts you're trying to operate on isn't likely to get you anywhere, especially since you don't seem to have the capability or understanding to know if you've even achieved anything.

[master_tremagne]

Specifically, what I had in mind was a replacement for opioid painkillers, something effective, but non-narcotic and non-addictive, and not just an anti-inflammatory. Not sure which chemical exactly, although something similar to the compounds found in the kratom plant is what I had in mind, since the plant is being considered as a replacement for methadone treatment. Unfortunately, the plant has now become somewhat of a street drug, and can be seriously addictive, according to what I've read from the Erowid experience vaults. Therefore, synthesizing some kind of quasi-organic chemical is my endgame.

 

And as for as the point of it all, I am thinking about an inexpensive way to produce pharmaceutical-grade medication without the need for a lab setup, or any kind of extraction, but simply the plant itself. I understand the limitations in that the chemical content may vary from plant to plant, but the idea has been nagging at me for several months now, and I have to see it to its end, even if that end goes nowhere.

 

And you're right, I have little knowledge or funds to put towards this venture, I just figure the best way to learn anything is from people who already know. I do actually have a few textbooks lying around that I have been meaning to read. Thanks for your advice!

[CharonY]

How are these compounds inorganic? But simply put, trying to make a plant (or even a cell line) to synthesize a specific compound is very complex, certainly not inexpensive and requires the introduction of new metabolic pathways that do not screw up the existing ones. Metabolic engineering is a complete research field on its own and relies on massive amounts of trial and errors. And even if successful (which generally takes years of blood sweat and grad student tears) the extraction of a pure compound is often not trivial either (though usually much easier).

Honestly, there is little chance for individuals without a fully equipped lab and a decent sized work group to succeed in this endeavor.

[master_tremagne]

Maybe I should restate my position. As of now I don't have the means to conduct these experiments, but I plan on developing my knowledge of genetics and chemistry over the next few years, as well as stock up on lab equipment and learn the basics of lab tech. This is by no means an amateur science, I understand, but I am devoted to learning, and am just seeking some small amount of guidance from more experienced individuals.

[CharonY]

Well, bottom line is that the use of metabolite creation in organisms only works well if the compound of interest is a protein, that is not modified much and can be produced and extracted effectively from the host. Alternatively, the metabolite is already present in the organism or only requires minute modification to regular (usually secondary) metabolism without disrupting too much.

 

While the technical steps are well understood, finding the right targets is a matter of much ongoing research (i.e. the time investment to figure out whether it works at all is quite substantial, much less the actual realization). Setting up this kind of research requires significant amount of funding, too. And by now most companies (after an initial hype roughly in the late 90s) have shied away from these programs (with very few exceptions that already have sunk a lot of money) or have outsourced it to unis.

 

Also as I alluded in my first post, chances are you mean organic compounds....

Edited December 2, 2013 by CharonY

[Fuzzwood]

Just to clarify. Inorganic does NOT mean that the compound did not come from an organism. Organic compounds are classified as having a carbon skeleton, i.e. molecules containing C-C bonds. And also, I can't see a plant somehow using a precursor for whatever product if neither is part of some metabolic pathway in the plant.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Fuzzwood

[DevilSolution]

Maybe I should restate my position. As of now I don't have the means to conduct these experiments, but I plan on developing my knowledge of genetics and chemistry over the next few years, as well as stock up on lab equipment and learn the basics of lab tech. This is by no means an amateur science, I understand, but I am devoted to learning, and am just seeking some small amount of guidance from more experienced individuals.

 

Heres a few idea's to add; Do you want to speed up growth? increase yield of said chemical? Create a varied yield of chemicals? Extract specific chemicals?

 

I can give you a few pointers to each of the said points but each requires time and patients and to some extent some experimental equipment (however you can send a specimen of for lab testing if you dont wish to personally test quality).

 

Regards

 

P.S the process wont usually come from adding a new chemical to the plant, the plant must already poses the capabilities of producing some level of the chemical you wish, from there you can enhance the plants yield to a high degree.

 

There's an array of knowledge you must know about for a plant to grow such as nutrients, lighting, hormones, pollination and yes you can manipulate the growth with specific chemicals. I'd also recommend doing extensive research into genetic engineering.

 

You can breed true, so to speak, certain traits, such as chemical yield, plant size, plant growth etc.

Edited December 3, 2013 by DevilSolution