Quirin Schiermeier, MoscowA successful scientific collaboration betweenRussia and the United States for developingmicrochips to process genetic informationhas collapsed in acrimony.

The collaboration, which involved theEngelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology(EIMB) in Moscow, the Argonne NationalLaboratory in Illinois and two US-basedcommercial partners, had provided substan-tial funding for the Moscow laboratory inexchange for access to its expertise in DNAchip technology.

But in recent months, financial supportfor the Russian laboratory has dried up asEIMB and Argonne argue over the contrac-tual arrangements between the parties. As aresult of the dispute, Andrei Mirzabekov hasresigned as director of Argonne’s BiochipTechnology Center. In turn, Argonne hassuspended the transfer to the Russian labo-ratory of some of the royalties it receivesfrom the collaboration’s industrial partners.

The collaboration, which began in 1995,has generated almost 40 scientific publica-tions and 30 patents and patent applications.It also triggered a partnership with Packard

BioScience, a Connecticut-based instru-ment maker, and the electronics companyMotorola. The companies have usedresearch from the collaboration to developcommercial microchips based on tiny gelsapplied on a glass surface which can performthousands of biological reactions within seconds, and associated instruments toprocess and analyse results from the chip.Researchers use the technology to detectgenetic mutations and for drug design.

Motorola and Packard have contributedalmost US$20 million to the project overfive years, making it one of the most suc-cessful biotechnology agreements betweenthe US Department of Energy, which runsArgonne, and industry. About 15% of thismoney went to the EIMB, which also, Mirzabekov says, received funding througha licensing agreement with Argonne.

Argonne officials agree that the arrange-ment has been a roaring success. “This hasbeen a true model relationship,” says one.But according to Bill Ragland, a researchmanager at Argonne, it is now time to reduce the size of the Moscow researchoperation supported by the collaboration.

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Mirzabekov claims that some US officialshave turned sour on the arrangementbecause of security concerns about the possi-ble use of biochip technology in detectingbiological warfare agents. Argonne officialsdeny that this has any connection with theirdecision.

According to Argonne, royalty paymentsof about $500,000 for the year 2000 havebeen stopped because of contractual dis-agreements over intellectual property rightson microchip technology. The technologywas initially described by a team at theMoscow lab in the 1980s. Argonne rejectsMirzabekov’s claim that rights for the tech-nology, which was subsequently developedby the joint venture, should now revert backto the EIMB.

Argonne officials say they are keen totransfer the outstanding money, but firstwant Mirzabekov to sign a contract assuringthem that he will continue to abide by earlierfinancial agreements. Mirzabekov is unhap-py with the contract, saying he already hasone, and that Argonne is effectively seeking to renegotiate it. “It makes us veryworried about the future, thinking thatArgonne could depart from other contractsas well,” he says.

Mirzabekov says he has hired lawyers inthe United States, but cannot afford to fight alengthy legal battle with the US lab. He hopesinstead that the Russian science ministry will settle the case directly with the USDepartment of Energy.

Mirzabekov is now searching for newpartners in the United States or WesternEurope. He hopes to use biochips to detectdrug-resistant strains of tuberculosis — agrowing health problem in Russia. ■

Joint venture on biochips ends in disarray

Bryon MacWilliams, MoscowA unique project in Siberia that has helpedresearchers understand how animalsbecome domesticated could soon expirefrom lack of funds.

Researchers at the Institute of Cytologyand Genetics in Novosibirsk havecompressed into decades a process thatmight otherwise require thousands of years.Through intense selective breeding, theyhave turned the silver fox (Vulpes vulpes)into an amiable, tail-wagging house pet.

The work, started in 1959 by the late geneticist Dmitry Belyaev, has

demonstrated the close links betweenbehavioural and developmental genetics.

The silver fox — known as the red fox inthe United States — is closely related to thedog, but had never been domesticated. The45,000 foxes so far involved in the Siberianproject were chosen by researchers for theirpropensity to being tamed.

The selection process resulted in theemergence of traits in physiology,morphology and behaviour that are mostnoticeable in the changes in coat colour andthe presence of floppy ears and curled tails.

But the institute lacks the $10,000 a yearit needs to keep the project going. “This isthe only kind of experiment of its kind in the world,” says Ludmila Trut, head of theresearch group at the institute. “It would bea tragedy if it were to wither.”

The research “is really importantbecause evolutionary change in behaviour isvery hard to study,” says Deborah Goodwin,deputy director of the AnthrozoologyInstitute at the University of Southamptonin Britain.

The population of breeding foxes hasbeen reduced from 700 to 100 since 1996 and the staff, too, is declining. The project is now overseen by seven researchers ofretirement age. ■

➧ http://www.bionet.nsc.ru/ICIG

It’s a dog’s life for Siberian foxes

Moving on: director Andrei Mirzabekov (inset)is looking for new partners for Moscow’sEngelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology.

Tail of woe: lack of money leaves the project todomesticate foxes facing an uncertain future.

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© 2001 Macmillan Magazines Ltd