Expression of the Rabies Virus Glycoprotein in Transgenic Tomatoes
- 1 December 1995
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Biotechnology
- Vol. 13 (12), 1484-1487
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1295-1484
Abstract
We have engineered tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentumMill var. UC82b) to express a gene for the glycoprotein (G-protein), which coats the outer surface of the rabies virus. The recombinant constructs contained the G-protein gene from the ERA strain of rabies virus, including the signal peptide, under the control of the 35S promoter of cauliflower mosaic virus. Plants were transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of cotyledons and tissue culture on selective media. PCR confirmed the presence of the G-protein gene in plants surviving selection. Northern blot analysis indicated that RNA of the appropriate molecular weight was produced in both leaves and fruit of the transgenic plants. The recombinant G-protein was immunoprecipitated and detected by Western blot from leaves and fruit using different antisera. The G-protein expressed in tomato appeared as two distinct bands with apparent molecular mass of 62 and 60 kDa as compared to the 66 kDa observed for G-protein from virus grown in BHK cells. Electron microscopy of leaf tissue using immunogold-labeling and antisera specific for rabies G-protein showed localization of the G-protein to the Golgi bodies, vesicles, plasmalemma and cell walls of vascular parenchyma cells. In light of our previous demonstration that orally administered rabies G-protein from the same ERA strain elicits protective immunity in animals, these transgenic plants should provide a valuable tool for the development of edible oral vaccinesKeywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Oral Immunization with a Recombinant Bacterial Antigen Produced in Transgenic PlantsScience, 1995
- Immunogenicity of transgenic plant-derived hepatitis B surface antigen.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1995
- Oral vaccination of racoons (Procyon lotor) with baculovirus-expressed rabies virus glycoproteinVaccine, 1993
- Effects of Passaging a Defective Isolate of Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus at Different TemperaturesPhytopathology®, 1993
- Expression of hepatitis B surface antigen in transgenic plants.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1992
- Biosynthesis, processing and targeting of the G-protein of vesicular stomatitis virus in tobacco protoplastsPlanta, 1992
- Differential effects of mutations in three domains on folding, quaternary structure, and intracellular transport of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein.The Journal of cell biology, 1988
- Binary vectorsPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,1988
- Oral immunization and protection of raccoons (Procyon lotor) with a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus vaccine.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1986
- Expression of rabies virus glycoprotein from a recombinant vaccinia virusNature, 1984