Poster: Late and Moved Abstracts

Abs # 1002: Production of foreign proteins by a cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) vector in plants

Presenter:	Hong, Jin-Sung , hong@res.agr.hokudai.ac.jp
Authors	Hong, Jin-Sung  (A)   Kuwata, Shigeru  (B)   Tabayashi, Noriko  (A)   Masuta, Chikara  (C)   Matsumura, Takeshi  (A)
Affiliations:	(A): AIST Hokkaido, National Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (B): School of Agriculture, Meiji University (C): The Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University

Plant virus vectors for expression of foreign genes have become an attractive tool to produce foreign proteins in plants. Virus-based vectors are advantageous because high levels of gene expression are expected in a short time after virus inoculation. We first inserted a reporter gene, the green fluorescence protein (GFP) in the CMV genome and produced GFP in Nicotiana benthamiana to demonstrate successful development of a CMV vector system. We then expressed a human protein (IL-1ra, Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist) for a practical application. RT-PCR and western blot analysis confirmed stable expression of foreign genes through engineered virus genomes. Expression of IL-1ra suggests that the viral vector can be used for production of animal proteins for medical use in plant. The infected plants can be also used for eating purpose if they produce functional proteins. Since CMV has a very wide host rang, this technique could beapplicable to many other plant species.