[High expression of thymosin alpha 1 by injecting recombinant PVX vector into the tomato fruit].
Ni. Yanbing Y; Shi. Zhengwen Z; Wang. Defu D; Yao. Min M; Qiao. Mu M; Guo. Pingyi P
Key Findings
- The thymosin‑alpha‑1 gene was successfully cloned into the PVX plant‑virus vector pGR107.
- Agrobacterium carrying the vector, when injected into tomato fruit, produced detectable thymosin‑alpha‑1 protein.
- Peak expression occurred in 2.5‑3 week‑old tomatoes using a bacterial suspension at OD600 = 1.0.
Practical Outcomes
- This shows a possible DIY route to produce thymosin‑alpha‑1 in plants, but it requires virus‑vector and Agrobacterium techniques and doesn’t give dosage or safety info, so it’s not ready for direct human use yet.
Summary
Scientists put the gene for thymosin‑alpha‑1 into a plant virus and injected it into tomato fruits, getting the peptide made inside the fruit, especially when the fruit was 2.5‑3 weeks old and the bacteria were at a certain concentration.
Abstract
For expression of foreign genes in plant, plant virus vector provides many advantages, such as high expression level, short expression period and wider plant hosts. In the present study, we report the expression of thymosin alpha 1 (Talpha1) in tomato fruits by potato virus X (PVX) vector. Talpha1 gene fragment from plasmid pGEM-T containing Talpha1 gene was cloned into plant virus vector pGR107 and the resulting pGR107-Talpha1 plasmid was confirmed by digestion with Sal I and Cla I. To express the Talpha1 protein, Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV3101 transformed with pGR107-Talpha1 was directly injected into tomato fruits through the fruit stylar apex at different developmental stages. The ELISA results showed that Talpha1 protein was expressed successfully in fruits, and the highest expression level was obtained from 2.5-3 week-old tomato fruits inoculated by bacterium at 1.0 OD600 density.
Study Information
pubmed
2009