Production of immunogenic VP6 protein of bovine group A rotavirus in transgenic potato plants

Abstract

We report here the production of transgenic potato plants expressing the major capsid protein VP6 of bovine group A rotavirus (GAR). Transgenic plants under the control of a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, or a modified promoter linked to the tobacco mosaic virus 5'-untranslated sequence were positive for GAR antigens by ELISA. The expressed protein was consistent in size with VP6 of GAR by Western blot assay. The presence of the VP6 gene and its transcript was detected by PCR and RT-PCR. Adult BALB/c mice were immunized intraperitoneally with concentrated transgenic potato extracts emulsified in Freund's adjuvant. Sera collected after immunization showed the anti-VP6 response in ELISA and Western blot assay. These results suggest that the immunogenic VP6 protein expressed in plants could be useful for the preparation of diagnostic reagents.