Production of peptides in plants as N-terminal viral coat protein fusions
First Claim
1. A polynucleotide encoding a fusion protein, wherein the fusion protein comprises a protein of interest linked to the N-terminus of a plant viral coat protein via a linking element, wherein the linking element is capable of being cleaved by a chemical reagent, wherein the linking element comprises a methionine and the chemical reagent is cyanogen bromide.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to foreign peptide sequences fused to the N-terminal of plant viral structural proteins and a method of their production. Fusion proteins are economically synthesized in plants at high levels by biologically contained tobamoviruses. The foreign peptide sequences can be cleaved from the fusion proteins by proteolytic enzymes or chemical reagents. The foreign peptide sequences of the invention have many uses. Such uses include use as antigens for inducing the production of antibodies having desired binding properties, e.g., protective antibodies, for use as vaccine antigens for the induction of protective immunity, including immunity against parasitic infections, for use as a protein involved in hormonal activity, or for use as a protein involved in immunoregulatory activity.
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Citations
23 Claims
- 1. A polynucleotide encoding a fusion protein, wherein the fusion protein comprises a protein of interest linked to the N-terminus of a plant viral coat protein via a linking element, wherein the linking element is capable of being cleaved by a chemical reagent, wherein the linking element comprises a methionine and the chemical reagent is cyanogen bromide.
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20. A method for synthesizing a protein of interest, comprising the steps of:
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(a) contacting a plant or a plant cell with a recombinant plant virus nucleic acid comprising a polynucleotide encoding a fusion protein, wherein the fusion protein comprises a protein of interest linked to the N-terminus of a plant viral coat protein via a linking element capable of cleavage by a cyanogen bromide, wherein the linking element comprises a methionine, (b) growing the plant or the plant cell under conditions such that the fusion protein is expressed, and (c) reacting the linking element with a chemical reagent such that at least one covalent bond between the protein of interest and the plant viral coat protein is broken. - View Dependent Claims (21, 23)
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Specification