Future of antibody purification.

http://fac.ksu.edu.sa/sites/default/files/Plant%20stress%20and%20human%20health.pdf

Plant stress and human health: Do human consumers benefit from UV-B acclimated crops?

Physical methods for genetic plant transformation.

Summary
A major challenge for future genetically modified (GM) crops is to prevent undesired gene flow of transgenes to plant material intended for another use. Recombinase-mediated auto excision of transgenes directed by a tightly controlled microspore-specific promoter allows efficient removal of either the selectable marker gene or of all introduced transgenes during microsporogenesis. This way, transgene removal becomes an integral part of the biology of pollen maturation, not requiring any external stimulus such as chemical induction by spraying. We here show the feasibility of engineering transgenic plants to produce pollen devoid of any transgene. Highly efficient excision of transgenes from tobacco pollen was achieved with a potential failure rate of at most two out of 16 800 seeds (0.024%). No evidence for either premature activation or absence of activation of the recombinase system was observed under stress conditions in the laboratory. This approach can prevent adventitious presence of transgenes in non-GM crops or related wild species by gene flow. Such biological containment may help the deployment and management of coexistence practices to support consumer choice and will promote clean molecular farming for the production of high-value compounds in plants.

Directed microspore-specific recombination of transgenic alleles to prevent pollen-mediated transmission of transgenes

Insect pests cause billions of dollars in crop losses and there is the ever-present threat of insecticide resistance, pesticide pollution of food and environmental damage. New ways of controlling insect pests are urgently needed. Arginine kinase (AK) is a phosphotransferase, which plays a critical role in cellular energy metabolism in invertebrates. It only presents in invertebrates and may be a suitable chemotherapeutic target in the control of pests. In this study, we cloned and characterized the full-length AK gene from Phyllotreta striolata, one of the most destructive beetle pests worldwide. Furthermore, we constructed a dsRNA targeting AK and used RNAi to control the beetle. The feeding bioassays indicated that minute quantities of dsRNA greatly impaired the beetle's development. Ingestion of dsRNA not only significantly retarded the development and increased the mortality of adults, it also greatly reduced fecundity and fertility, suggesting that RNAi targeting AK is a potential and attractive tool for controlling insect pests.

/pdf/phyllotreta-striolata-coleoptera-chrysomelidae-arginine-4m8w7ad95n.pdf

Phyllotreta striolata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): Arginine kinase cloning and RNAi-based pest control

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the application of plant biotechnology for the production of a variety of commercially valuable simple and complex biological molecules (biologics) for use in human and animal healthcare. Transgenic whole plants and plant cell culture systems have been developed that have the capacity to economically produce large-scale quantities of antibodies and antibody fragments, antigens and/or vaccine epitopes, metabolic enzymes, hormones, (neuro)peptides and a variety of biologically active complexes and secondary metabolites for direct use as therapeutic agents or diagnostic tools in the medical healthcare industry. As the products of genetically modified plants make their way from concept to commercialization the associated risks and acceptance by the public has been become a focal point. In this paper, we summarize the recent advances made in the use of transgenic plants and plant cell cultures as biological factories for the production of human therapeutics and biopharmaceuticals and discuss the long-term potential of `molecular farming' as a low-cost, efficient method for the production of biological materials with demonstrated utility to the pharmaceutical industry or medical community.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11240-004-0653-0.pdf

Nilesh P. Teli

Papers

Recent developments in the use of transgenic plants for the production of human therapeutics and biopharmaceuticals.