RBGH

RECOMBINANT BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE(RBGH)

Patricia Anne Barbero


I. MILK PRODUCTIONII. GENETIC ENGINEERINGIII. BOVINE SOMATOTROPIN (BST)IV.RECOMBINANT BOVINE GROWTH

HORMONE(RBGH)

Cows

Cows are domesticated mammals of the family Bovidae; they are raised for their meat and milk, for their skins and for some countries for their strength as draft animals…

Cows

Cows on farms and ranches vary widely in type or confirmation, origin and purpose for which they are grown

bred for beefbred mainly for milk productionDual purpose

I.MILK PRODUCTION

Milk Production

Cows must be milked at regular intervals, usually twice a dayAnnual world milk production in the late 1980s - 518 million tons. The world milk production in 2000 was 568.480 thousands of tons of all types of milk of which 484.895 thousands tons are cow's milk with a total of 85.30 % of the world milk production.

Milk Production

Europe, North America and Asia produced 81.82 % of total cow's world milk production Developed countries produce 50 % of total milk production, while higher milk production is forecast for the developing countriesAbout 85% of the world’s milk is produced in temperate zone countries. Commercial milk production of genetics cattle accounts from 80 % to 85 %.

Milk Production

• 1980s -The number of dairy cows in the United States dropped from 25 million in 1945 to 10 million

• Milk yield per cow has soared, from an annual 2080 kg in 1945 to today average 6350 kg. Some herds now regularly produce 11350 kg averages, and dairy scientists confidently expect dairy cattle to average 18000 kg by the beginning of the next century.

II. Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering

by this process, genes are isolated, modified and inserted into the same or into a different one

Protein products of the modified genes may cover the function of their missing or malfunctioning counterparts.

General Steps in recombinant DNA procedureObtain

gene of interest Insert

into cloning vector

Transform and

maintain in

host cellRecover Cloned DNA Express cloned

DNA and study

gene product

III. BOVINE SOMATOTROPIN (BST)

What is Bovine Somatotropin (BST)?

• Somatotropins are protein (not steroid) growth hormones that are species-specific in their effect

• Cows, humans, pigs, mice and other organisms produce their own unique somatotropins, which are not cross active.

• As early as 1930s, scientists discovered that the milk production in lactating cows could be significantly boosted by supplementing the natural production of the BST in cows with an artificial injection of additional amounts of BST.

What is Bovine Somatotropin (BST)?

IV. RECOMBINANT BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE(RBGH

RECOMBINANT BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE(RBGH

• The gene that encodes BST production was isolated and inserted into E. Coli.

• it takes about 6 days after injection to realize the maximum effect of the hormone

• To meet this increased production, the cows increase their feed intake by about 10% to 20%.

• Recorded increase in milk yield as a result of rBGH supplementation ranged from 8.3 to 21.3 percent in research studies


• Recorded increase in milk yield as a result of rBGH supplementation ranged from 8.3 to 21.3 percent in research studies

Marketing rBGH

• 1993• Monsanto

Company of St. Louis, Missouri

• Trade name Posilac

Why use rBGH?

• The technology requires no capital investment

• There is no significant lag time between the introduction of the technology and the financial benefits reaped as a result of it.

• rBGH is virtually identical to the BST naturally produced by cows, differing by just one amino acid residue.

• Minute amounts present in milk are digested and so do not pass into the human bloodstream.

Disadvantages of rBGH

MILK OVERPRODUCTION• the demand for milk has failed to keep up

with the dramatic increases that have already taken place in milk yields

leading to the occurrence of so called milk lakes

Disadvantages of rBGH

• Due to the introduction of rBGH in the market massive quantities of federally owned dairy products have been left in storage in government warehouses

(it only implies that rBGH is not intended solely to produce more milk)

Effects on Human Health

• while it is true that genetically engineered BST itself almost certainly poses no health risks to humans, its used is linked to significantly raised levels of insulin growth factor-1 in the cow’s milk

• IGF-1 is associated with breast, prostate and colon cancers


• may trigger premature growth in infants, breast development in children and breast cancer in women

• When cow’s milk is consumed by human non-infants, it behaves as a cancer-accelerator


• Ben Mepham, a physiologist working at the Center for Applied Bioethics at Nottingham University, argued that legislation of commercial use of rBGH in the absence of more extensive information on these questions could lead to a deterioration in public health


• He has also pointed out that public confidence in biotechnology would be helped by a more open system of regulation and by the use of blind trials in experimental work, as is the norm in pharmaceutical industry

Does the use of RBGH Injections harm the cow’s health?

• may increase the incidence of mastitis, cystic ovaries, disorders of the uterus, retained placentas and other health problems, including indigestion, bloat, diarrhea and lesions of the knees

• more susceptible to udder infections• Mastitis is a condition which can increase

the amount of cow's pus which ends up in the milk

• will often become malnourished• like hoof diseases, open sores

and bovine death stemming from internal bleeding

• for many people the thought that cows will be artificially stimulated by biweekly injections of genetically engineered BST for most of their lives is somehow off-putting

• milk still retains a special aura of freshness and naturalness

Does the use of RBGH Injections harm the cow’s health?

• “Nature and all that is natural is valuable and good in itself; all forms of genetic

engineering are unnatural in that they go against and interfere with Nature,

particularly in the crossing of natural species boundaries; all forms of genetic engineering are, therefore, intrinsically

wrong.”

-Michael Reiss

“ In short, rBGH threatens to undermine the common good not simply of the dairy farmers it will displace, but of us all. It promises, in a small

way, to undermine our general well-being.”

Gary ComstockAmerican philosopher

Addressing the problems of using RBGH

• there are local, national and international entities implementing rules to regulate biotechnology products

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

• In 1997, FDA decided to subject all biotechnology products to the same standards of regulation as traditional products.

• companies or researchers whose products meet out the following criteria should submit them for testing: – 1.) if the product produces unexpected genetic effects – 2.) the product has higher than normal levels of

toxicants than other edible varieties of the same species

– 3.)the product has altered levels of essential nutrients – 4.) the chemical composition of the product is

significantly different from existing normal products

– 5.) the product contains proteins that have allergenic properties

–

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

• – 6.) the product is produced by a biotechnology

process that utilizes genetic markers that could adversely impact current clinically useful antibiotics

– 7.) the plants engineered to produce pharmaceuticals or other polymers

– 8.) the products chemical composition regarding nutrients and toxins is significantly different from levels in similar products used for feed.

APHIS

• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service• The Food Safety and Inspection Service

(FSIS) has the responsibility to ensure that they do not pose a threat to human health. APHIS has the power to carry out an environmental assessment

• 'FONSI' – finding of no significant impact does it issue permit

Thank You!

RBGH

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