A simple and effective system for foreign gene expression in plants via root absorption of agrobacterial suspension

J Biotechnol. 2008 Apr 30;134(3-4):320-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2008.01.019. Epub 2008 Feb 13.

Abstract

Due to the laborious and scale-up limitation we have developed a simple system named "root absorption" to express foreign proteins in plants successfully. It has been shown that GFP was expressed in tobacco plants by root absorbing the Agrobacterium suspension containing TMV-based P35S-30B-GFP vector. Various factors influencing the gene expression were studied including Agrobacterium cell density, seedling age, plant materials and inoculation conditions. This system has the special advantages as simple and convenient work process, ease to scale-up and higher level of expression than leaf infiltration. Interestingly, GFP was expressed at 24h post-absorption. We assume that the root absorption system will facilitate the large-scale production of the recombinant pharmaceutical proteins in plants by means of transient expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Absorption*
  • Biological Transport
  • Gene Expression
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Gene Transfer Techniques*
  • Genetic Vectors / pharmacokinetics
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Nicotiana / genetics*
  • Nicotiana / microbiology*
  • Plant Roots / metabolism*
  • Plant Roots / microbiology
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / microbiology
  • Rhizobium / genetics
  • Rhizobium / metabolism*
  • Rhizobium / virology*
  • Suspensions / pharmacokinetics
  • Tobacco Mosaic Virus / genetics
  • Transgenes

Substances

  • Suspensions
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins