PLANT PHYSIOLOGY , Vol 106, Issue 3 977-981, Copyright © 1994 by American Society of Plant Biologists
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MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENE REGULATION |
Expression of a Human Lactoferrin cDNA in Tobacco Cells Produces Antibacterial Protein(s)
A. Mitra and Z. Zhang
Department of Plant Pathology and the Center for Biotechnology (A.M.) and Department of Horticulture (Z.Z.), University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0722
A suspension tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cell line was transformed to
express human lactoferrin, an iron-binding glycoprotein. The transgenic
calli produced a protein that was significantly smaller than the
full-length lactoferrin protein. Total protein extracts made from
transgenic tobacco callus exhibited much higher antibacterial activity than
commercially available purified lacto-ferrin as determined by the decrease
of colony-forming units when tested with four phytopathogenic species of
bacteria. Introduction of the lactoferrin gene in crop plants may provide
resistance against phytopathogenic bacteria.
