アグロテクノロジー

概要

Biosynthesis of Therapeutic Peptides in Tobacco: Plant Viral Vectors as Reactors of Drugs

Nicolau B da cunha*, Victor A Cunha, Lorena SL Costa, Michel L Leite, Jonathas EM Gomes, Kamila BO Sampaio, Simoni C Dias

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are natural candidates to be used as agents to combat microorganisms resistant to conventional drugs. They consist of small molecules that are produced by all living beings, forming part of your defense/immune system. The large-scale production of transiently synthesized peptides in leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana showed as a promising alternative to other plant systems. Tobacco plants can produce a large number of peptides in a short period and are capable of making post-translational changes necessary for the functioning of protein molecules. The new generation of hybrid vectors based on plant viruses potent regulatory sequences and Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA enables the massive production of recombinant proteins in agro in filtrated somatic cells, with record yields of up to 5g of the protein of interest/kg of fresh weight over such periods as short as a week. This review presents the main aspects related to the transient production of viral vector-mediated recombinant AMPs.