Restriction endonucleases

[quantum dot]

When I was studying the chapter about genetic engineering in biology, I read that the restriction endonucleases (restriction enzymes) that we use to cut the bacterial plasmids and the genes being inserted to make sticky ends are taken from bacteriophages which are bacteria that can kill viruses that attack them. I found this very interesting because I thought if bacteria can kill viruses in this way by destroying their genetic material? then why can't we too? I mean, since it's impossible to kill viruses using immune responses because their antigens change too quickly, then maybe killing them during reproduction when the genetic material goes out of the capsid to replicate using restriction enzymes, just like bacteria do, would be a better idea. Of course, the information I have is limited to the high school syllabus so I can't make a well-informed judgement in this regard, but from what I know, it makes sense, but of course, if that were true then I'm sure scientists would already be applying it, so i don't think it is (or maybe scientists already are working on it, I dunno...)

Anyways, so what do you guys think?

[freeztar]

Scientists are already working on it. :)

A minor correction though. Bacteriophages are actually viruses that "eat" bacteria.

 

At the college I attended, I had a friend who was working on just such an idea with E. coli. Here's an article about that program:

Bacteria-killer virus draws science world to Evergreen: Olympia college known as leader in phage researchSample Search Interface