Apoptosis is a form of cellular suicide.  Apoptosis is essential for physiological balance and development in multicellular organisms.  Disturbance of apoptosis can lead to chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and diseases of the central nervous and immune systems.  Of course, the emotional and social impact of chronic diseases cannot be measured in dollars.  However, the economic burden in cost of care and loss of productivity exceeds $1 trillion annually in the U.S. and $50 trillion globally.  Thus, in-depth knowledge of apoptosis is highly relevant for medicine and biotechnology. 

Dr. Shan Bilimoria’s group is conducting basic and applied research on virus-induced apoptosis.  His team recently showed that an iridovirus protein extract induces apoptosis, inhibits host gene expression, and kills boll weevil larvae.  The impact of insect pests on agricultural productivity is at least $30 billion per annum worldwide.  Dr. Bilimoria was awarded a U.S. Patent for this invention.  His group has now cloned and expressed the viral gene responsible for apoptosis and host shutoff.  The protein encoded by this gene is designated “iridoptin.”  Texas Tech University has applied for a provisional U.S. patent on this invention.  Iridoptin is the first viral protein of its type shown to induce apoptosis.  Key research questions are: (i) how effective is the iridoptin gene for engineering pest-resistant plants?  (ii) What are the signaling pathways for apoptosis induction by iridoptin and what can we learn about novel apoptotic mechanisms from this unusual protein? (iii) How effective is iridoptin in killing cancer cells?  Dr. Bilimoria and his colleagues will engineer plants expressing iridoptin and test them against insect larvae.  They will also test iridoptin against cancer cells.  Recombinant DNA methods will identify the pathways that iridoptin uses for signaling apoptosis. 

Apoptosis is a fundamental biological process.  Viruses are increasingly relevant given emerging diseases such as SARS, West Nile viral encephalitis, and bird flu.  Therefore, knowledge of both viruses and apoptosis will be important at all levels for students and teachers.  Motivation for learning about these topics should be excellent given the high potential impact.

Basic research on insect systems has yielded important clues on apoptosis mechanisms in humans.  Dr. Bilimoria’s research will impact students at Texas Tech University by providing training in agricultural, biomedical, and biotechnological aspects of virology and apoptosis.  The transgenic plants generated by this approach would benefit Texas, the nation, and the world through increased agricultural productivity, as well as water and energy conservation.  Basic studies in the Bilimoria Laboratory have the potential of contributing toward relief from a wide range of chronic diseases.  Finally, the inventions described may provide Texas industry with new technology for global distribution.