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A Small Contribution for the Knowledge’s Immensity

Date: (20/10/2009)

Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas

An interview with Dra. Martha Guerrero Olazaran about Biotechnology advances in the School of Biological Sciences.

Some academic staff members of the School of Biological Sciences .

By Mayra Silva Almanza

“I started my working life as a professor, but what I used to teach was what the book had inside. I could not believe that I was teaching something that was not touched by my hands or felt it ever. So, I decided to experience almost everything what I teach.”

Martha Guerrero Olazaran, who got a Doctorate’s Degree in the Heidelberg University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, has gotten many of the challenges she established in research field too.

Doctor Guerrero worked on biochemistry of phospholipids, pulmonary surfactants composition (lipids that help lung’s alveolus for not bringing a standstill), all this for understanding lung’s physiology and its reaction before chemicals influence.

“As a chemist, I worked –at the beginning- with plants, extracting and characterizing their chemical products (phytochemicals). I was hired by the School of Medicine for isolating plants’ poison known as “coyotillo” or “tullidora” -karwinskia humboldtiana- which was poisoning children who live in rural areas.”

“After that, I was interested in these toxins’ effect and I joined the UANL School of Medicine pharmacologists and toxicologists team,” said doctor about her first works.

When Dra. Guerrero returned to Germany, she joined Pharmacology working team, and in 90’s, she joined biochemistry department. That was when an important change occurred on science towards molecular biology and genes managing for overproducing specific products such as proteins.

“We could change cells’ genetic information in order to obtain a product that could be used in drugs, industry, etc. We observed there was not a development in this researching area in Mexico, and our working team was focused on constructing microorganisms (genetically modified microorganisms) that produced the human growth hormone with the objective of getting a product to use it as a medication. We got to have a patent in Mexico and another one in USA as well as a technological transference.”

Thanks to the first results in biotechnology area, Dra. Guerrero and several researchers created a multidisciplinary group; they could improve themselves in the School of Biology, where –currently- they are working.

They had gotten excellent results and Doctor talks about them: “First, we observe a product’s necessity, generally, proteins. We look for genes (which protect the information for producing every protein) with required characteristics and we introduce them in yeasts, a model which we have worked in for more than a decade.”

“After introducing the gene in the receiving cell, in this case the yeast, we make that cell’s mechanism produces protein and secretes it in a massive manner. We are carrying out several tests with laboratory scalable processes in an industrial level and the final product is a process carried out by modified –in their genomes- yeasts, which might produce a product (protein) for a specific application.”

“The cells’ population -that we have modified- use and process provided information and produce what we want, but we must take care of conditions which surround this population, they must be the appropriate ones for obtaining their highest performance.”

Dra. Guerrero’s working team is a required reference -nationally- in Biotechnology, thanks to their experience in the School of Biological Sciences.

All this has taken them to work with the Instituto Tecnologico de Tamaulipas about diagnosis methods development for tuberculosis, with the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa about bioprocesses aspects and proteins engineering; recently, with the University Autonoma de Ciahuila about a gene cloning, which codifies for an industrial interest protein that comes from a mushroom of the region.

Likewise, Dra. Guerrero’s working team has worked with the Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco on “pigua” genes cloning(Macrobrachium carcinus), an endemic specie of crustaceans from Mexico. They have been working in their own projects such as potentially valuable products in shrimp’s food such as Fiatsa, an enzyme that improves nutrition properties of vegetable floors.

We use biocomputing –with the technology we have established- for hunting genetic information and modified it if it is necessary, we manipulate genes and the receiving organism with the Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology technologies as well as fermentation technology, we develop bioprocesses for being in the industry.”

In spite of all scientific work that was carried out, doctor assures that most of her work has been organizing and getting the appropriate environment not only for model modified cell’s good job, but infrastructure, technology, human resources creation, for every system’s part to work in the best way.

At the end, after years of experience and challenges, Martha Guerrero Olazaran keeps thinking that there is still a lot of work, besides the wish, because more professionals get specialized in this research field for enterprises have the scientific support of specialists and increase the productivity.

“I want our products and processes do not be left in the laboratory, but to be invloved in the industry, that people -we educate- can auto-employ themselves in new enterprises with scientific-technological bases and businessmen turn to see these new technologies’ potential, this is a challenge for us, the researchers, and human resources creators,” finished Doctor Martha Guerrero.