Production of Pharmaceutical Proteins DHT, NCA and Neisseria Meningitidis-Specific Antibody in Transgenic Rice

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important and most widely cultivated crops in Taiwan. However, because the cost of cultivation is increasing every year, and the upcoming strong competition of imported rice from other countries after joining the WTO, the economic value of growing rice is downsizing. In addition to reduce the production cost, to use the rice plants as bioreactors to produce pharmaceutical proteins becomes a new way for increasing economic values of rice and may solve the problems we are facing. The general purpose of this proposal is to transfer genes of several pharmaceutical enzymes, such as D-hydantoinase, N-carbamoyl L-amino acid amidohydrase and Neisseria meningitidis-specific antibody genes into rice using genetic engineering techniques, and expect to increase the additional value of rice. After performing this project, we expect to obtain several kinds of transgenic rice plants each contains different type of high-value protein gene. These transgenic rice plants will serve as bioreactors to produce high-value-protein to increase the economic value of rice and thus open up a new direction of our rice production in the future.

水稻是本省重要的農作物之一,其栽培面積十分廣大.但因栽培成本不斷提高,使得種植水稻之經濟效益相對降低.加上目前政府正積極運作加入世界貿易組織,唯市場開放後,水稻的經濟價值即將面臨重大的入關壓力.因此,除了研究降低生產成本之外,提高水稻生產之附加價值,利用水稻當作生物反應器來生產高經濟價值蛋白質或人類用藥,成為另一條提升水稻價值之有效途徑.本計畫擬利用基因工程技術將醫藥工業用酵素,如DHT、NCA、奈瑟氏腦膜炎雙球菌抗體基因等基因轉殖入水稻中,生產高經濟價值之重組蛋白質進而提高水稻之附加價值.執行本計畫後,預期育成含有多種高價值蛋白之轉基因水稻,做為生產這些高價值蛋白之工廠,以開創稻米產業之新方向.本計畫若能成功,其預期之經濟效益將相當大,不僅可降低加入WTO後稻米市場開放之衝擊,確保台灣水稻之永續經營.