There are certain things we Texans by and large hate. At the top of the list are fire ants, wild hogs and Zebra Mussels. And now a former cancer researcher has set his sights on ridding Texas lakes of the latter.
The method poisons only zebra mussels. John Higley, CEO of Environmental Quality Operation in Austin says at his former job, he took toxins and programmed them to attack cancer cells. "We're using very similar technologies, except its easier when you're trying to address just a single organism because a Zebra Mussel is not as closely related to a native mussel as a cancer cell is to the cell it mutates from."
The technology involves taking part of a protein that normally is associated with a toxin and rendered it safe and inert. Then they add a new protein that only binds to Zebra Mussels. That construct is grown in a micro algae system that becomes a poison pill for Zebra Mussels only. It's essentially fish food but the zebra mussels eat it and die.
He says it's the same challenge as trying to create a drug to cure cancer. "The challenge with that is you want to hit just the cancer cells and leave all the other cells that are very similar alone. It's like hitting a dartboard from a mile away in the dark. It takes some skill and some know-how and some tricks. And we're using very similar technologies, except it's easier when you're trying to address just a single organism because a zebra mussel is not a closely related to a native mussel as a cancer cell is to a cell that it mutates from. It's actually a much easier target."
Lab testing is underway and Higley hopes to start field testing, in a quarantined part of a lake, late next year. Zebra Mussels have been found from Lake Texoma to Lake LBJ northwest of Austin. They clog water pipes, harm native species and hitch rides on boats from lake to lake.
