Recombinant plants tomato

In the quest to find other plants that are suitable as bioreactors, various monocoty-ledonous and dicotyledonous species have been tested. These include corn [16], rice and wheat [17], alfalfa [18], potato [19, 20], oilseed rape [21], pea [22], tomato [23] and soybean [24]. The major advantage of cereal crops is that recombinant proteins can be directed to accumulate in seeds, which are evolutionar specialized for storage and thus protect proteins from proteolytic degradation. Recombinant proteins are reported to remain stable in seeds for up to five months at room temperature [17] and for at least three years at refrigerator temperature without significant loss of activity [25]. In addition, the seed proteome is less complex than the leaf proteome, which makes purification quicker and more economical [26]. 

Mor, T.S., Stemfeld, M., Soreq, H., Amtzen, C.J., Mason, H.S. (2001b). Expression of recombinant human acetylcholinesterase in transgenic tomato plants. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 75 259-66. 

Suspension cell cultures have been derived from a number of different plant species, including the widely-used laboratory model Arabidopsis thaliana [15], plants such as Catharanthus roseus and Taxus cus-pidata which are used to produce valuable secondary metaboHtes [16, 17], and important domestic crops such as tobacco, rice, alfalfa, tomato, and soybean [18-22]. Because cell lines from domestic crop species are well-characterized, they have been the most frequently used for recombinant protein production. The most popular cell hnes include those derived from the tobacco cultivars Bright Yellow 2 (BY-2) (Fig. 9.1) and Nicotiana tabacum 1 (NT-1) [2]. 

We are now starting to see FDA approval of food products from biotechnology. These are listed in Table II. There are a number of plant products currently on the market which have been developed through the application of recombinant DNA technology. Two varieties of tomatoes, mini red peppers and two variations of carrots are currently available in supermarkets. The Flavr-Savr tomato was introduced in early 1994 later the crooked neck squash was approved. Although it is too early to assess the ultimate commercial success of these ventures, initial acceptance of the Flavr-Savr tomato in California was well above expectation. 

Sherman, J. D., and Stack, S. M. (1995). Two-dimensional spreads of synaptonemal complexes from solanaceous plants. VI. High-rcsolution recombination nodule map for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Genetics 141, 683-708. 

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