Departmental Papers (Dental)
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
7-2011
Publication Source
Plant Molecular Biology
Volume
76
Issue
3-5
Start Page
323
Last Page
333
DOI
10.1007/s11103-011-9766-0
Abstract
Dengue is an acute febrile viral disease with >100 million infections occurring each year and more than half of the world population is at risk. Global resurgence of dengue in many urban centers of the tropics is a major concern. Therefore, development of a successful vaccine is urgently needed that is economical and provide long-lasting protection from dengue virus infections. In this manuscript, we report expression of dengue-3 serotype polyprotein (prM/E) consisting of part of capsid, complete premembrane (prM) and truncated envelope (E) protein in an edible crop lettuce. The dengue sequence was controlled by endogenous Lactuca sativa psbA regulatory elements. PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed transgene integration into the lettuce chloroplast genome via homologous recombination at the trnI/trnA intergenic spacer region. Western blot analysis showed expression of polyprotein prM/E in different forms as monomers (~65 kDa) or possibly heterodimers (~130 kDa) or multimers. Multimers were solubilized into monomers using guanidine hydrochloride. Transplastomic lettuce plants expressing dengue prM/E vaccine antigens grew normally and transgenes were inherited in the T1 progeny without any segregation. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of virus-like particles of ~20 nm diameter in chloroplast extracts of transplastomic lettuce expressing prM/E proteins, but not in untransformed plants. The prM/E antigens expressed in lettuce chloroplasts should offer a potential source for investigating an oral Dengue vaccine.
Copyright/Permission Statement
The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/[10.1007/s11103-011-9766-0I]
Keywords
Chloroplast genetic engineering, Molecular farming, Plant-made biopharmaceuticals, Viral vaccine
Recommended Citation
Kanagaraj, A., Verma, D., & Daniell, H. (2011). Expression of Dengue-3 Premembrane and Envelope Polyprotein in Lettuce Chloroplasts. Plant Molecular Biology, 76 (3-5), 323-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11103-011-9766-0
Date Posted: 01 March 2022
This document has been peer reviewed.
Comments
At the time of publication, author Henry Daniell was affiliated with the University of Central Florida. Currently, he is a faculty member at the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.