Turning Tobacco Plants into Anti-Bacterial Protein BioFactories

Scientists from the United States Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are turning plants into biofactories that produce a protein capable of preventing inflammatory udder disease in dairy cows. By introducing a potato virus carrying the gene coding for the CD14 protein in tobacco plants, the scientists were able to produce significant amounts of the protein known to help the immune system fight the infection-causing bacteria. CD14 is naturally secreted in the mammary glands at very low levels. Potentially, 50 genetically-modified plants could provide enough purified protein to treat a herd of 500 cows.

When a plant is infected with a virus, thousands of copies of the viral genetic material, including the gene coding for CD14, are created in each plant cell. This is how the virus turns a plant into a bio-factory that rapidly generates the protein of interest. CD14 proteins are tagged with the amino acid histidine which, like a trace marker, enables easy separation from other plant proteins. ARS has applied for patent protection on the plant-derived CD14, and the researchers are now seeking partners to help further develop and test the protein for safety, effectiveness, and proper dosage.

Read more at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep07/cow0907.htm