Chapter category: Biotechnology

Optimization of Recombinant Protein Expression in the Chloroplasts of Green Algae

This chapter appears in the following book:

Transgenic Microalgae as Green
Cell Factories

Edited by: Rosa León, Aurora Gaván and Emilio Fernández
ISBN: 978-0-387-75531-1
» Get more information about this book at landesbioscience.com «

Chapter authors:
Samuel P. Fletcher, Machiko Muto and Stephen P. Mayfield

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Through advances in molecular and genetic techniques, protein expression in the chloroplasts of green algae has been optimized for high-level expression. Recombinant proteins expressed in algae have the potential to provide novel and safe treatment of disease and infection where current, high-cost drugs are the only option, or worse, where therapeutic drugs are not available due to their prohibitively high-cost to manufacture. Optimization of recombinant protein expression in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplasts has been accomplished by employing chloroplast codon bias and combinatorial examination of promoter and UTR combinations. In addition, as displayed by the expression of an anti-herpes antibody, the C. reinhardtii chloroplast is capable of correctly folding and assembling complex mammalian proteins. These data establish algal chloroplasts as a system for the production of complex human therapeutic proteins in soluble and active form, and at significantly reduced time and cost compared to existing production systems. Production of recombinant proteins in algal chloroplasts may enable further development of safe, efficacious and cost-effective protein therapeutics.

Samuel P. Fletcher
Department of Cell Biology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute

Machiko Muto
Department of Cell Biology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute

Stephen P. Mayfield
Department of Cell Biology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute

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Chapter category: Biotechnology

Optimization of Recombinant Protein Expression in the Chloroplasts of Green Algae

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