A New Strategy to Produce a Defensin: Stable Production of Mutated NP-1 in Nitrate Reductase-Deficient Chlorella ellipsoidea

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054966
• Publication Date: 2013-01-29T00:38:40Z
• Authors: Li-Li Bai; Wei-Bo Yin; Yu-Hong Chen; Li-Li Niu; Yong-Ru Sun; Shi-Min Zhao; Fu-Quan Yang; Richard R.-C. Wang; Qing Wu; Xiang-Qi Zhang; Zan-Min Hu
• Keywords: alpha-Defensins; 0303 health sciences; Science; Q; Genetic Vectors; R; Codon, Initiator; Chlorella; Plants, Genetically Modified; Nitrate Reductase; Anti-Bacterial Agents; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Transformation, Genetic; Fermentation; Mutation; Escherichia coli; Medicine; Animals; Rabbits; Research Article

Defensins are small cationic peptides that could be used as the potential substitute for antibiotics. However, there is no efficient method for producing defensins. In this study, we developed a new strategy to produce defensin in nitrate reductase (NR)-deficient C. ellipsoidea (nrm-4). We constructed a plant expression vector carrying mutated NP-1 gene (mNP-1), a mature α-defensin NP-1 gene from rabbit with an additional initiator codon in the 5'-terminus, in which the selection markers were NptII and NR genes. We transferred mNP-1 into nrm-4 using electroporation and obtained many transgenic lines with high efficiency under selection chemicals G418 and NaNO(3). The mNP-1 was characterized using N-terminal sequencing after being isolated from transgenic lines. Excitingly, mNP-1 was produced at high levels (approximately 11.42 mg/l) even after 15 generations of continuous fermentation. In addition, mNP-1 had strong activity against Escherichia coli at 5 µg/ml. This research developed a new method for producing defensins using genetic engineering.