An accomplished veterinary toxicologist, Morrie Craig graduated with a PhD in biophysics from Oregon State University in 1970. Subsequently, he served as the professor of toxicology and director of the endophyte laboratory at the institution for over 2 decades. Dr. A Morrie Craig has dedicated extensive research efforts to a novel bioremediation technology that focuses on detoxifying environmental toxicants with the aid of ruminal microbes.
It has been known for a long in veterinary medicine that sheep are resistant to the toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which are lethal to horses and cattle. PAs are present in certain toxic weeds - including the common tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). When horses and cattle graze this weed repeatedly, they develop and die from chronic liver disease. Subsequent research conducted at USDA and Oregon State University revealed that sheep’s ruminal microorganisms were able to detoxify the toxic compound before it could go systemic in the animals. Researchers suspected that ruminal microbes can also degrade toxic nitrogenous munition residues - often found in old war zones, which can make them applicable for bioremediation endeavors to reclaim munition-contaminated areas for agricultural sustenance.
To clarify this speculation, a series of experiments were conducted to determine if sheep fed with toxic munition remnants can degrade the toxins into less harmful derivatives. The study was done at the Endophyte Testing Laboratory at OSU in Corvallis Oregon and the United States Department of Agriculture. Ruminal microbes were able to detoxify TNT, HMX, and RDX into non-toxic moieties in hours in in-vitro studies. Through 16s RNA analysis, researchers were also able to identify the different bacteria that are responsible for the degradation, as well as their metabolism.
It has been known for a long in veterinary medicine that sheep are resistant to the toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which are lethal to horses and cattle. PAs are present in certain toxic weeds - including the common tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). When horses and cattle graze this weed repeatedly, they develop and die from chronic liver disease. Subsequent research conducted at USDA and Oregon State University revealed that sheep’s ruminal microorganisms were able to detoxify the toxic compound before it could go systemic in the animals. Researchers suspected that ruminal microbes can also degrade toxic nitrogenous munition residues - often found in old war zones, which can make them applicable for bioremediation endeavors to reclaim munition-contaminated areas for agricultural sustenance.
To clarify this speculation, a series of experiments were conducted to determine if sheep fed with toxic munition remnants can degrade the toxins into less harmful derivatives. The study was done at the Endophyte Testing Laboratory at OSU in Corvallis Oregon and the United States Department of Agriculture. Ruminal microbes were able to detoxify TNT, HMX, and RDX into non-toxic moieties in hours in in-vitro studies. Through 16s RNA analysis, researchers were also able to identify the different bacteria that are responsible for the degradation, as well as their metabolism.
