Science Letters:Transient expression of chicken alpha interferon gene in lettuce

摘要

We investigated the possibility of producing chicken alpha interferon(ChIFN-α) in transgenic plants. The cDNA encoding ChIFN-α was introduced into lettuce(Lactuca sativa L.) plants by using an agro-infiltration transient expression system. The ChIFN-α gene was correctly transcribed and translated in the lettuce plants according to RT-PCR and ELISA assays. Re-combinant protein exhibited antiviral activity in vitro by inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus(VSV) replication on chicken embryonic fibroblast(CEF). The results demonstrate that biologically active avian cytokine with potential pharmaceutical ap-plications could be expressed in transgenic lettuce plants and that it is possible to generate interferon protein in forage plants for preventing infectious diseases of poultry.