Current Opinion in Plant Biology
sciencedirect.com
doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2004.01.002 Cite or link using doi
Copyright © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The moss bioreactor
Eva L Decker and Ralf Reski
Plant Biotechnology, University of Freiburg, Schaenzlstrasse 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
Available online 28 January 2004.
Abstract
The production of recombinant proteins in moss bioreactors provides all of the benefits of molecular farming in plants but avoids many plant-specific disadvantages, such as the genetic instability of de-differentiated cells in suspension culture or the lack of containment during field production. Protein yields are in the same range as those of other cell-culture-based production systems. On top of this, the moss Physcomitrella patens is the only known plant that can be genetically modified by homologous recombination, allowing efficient targeted gene disruption. Thus, the major drawback of producing human proteins in plants, allergic reactions caused by plant-specific glycosylation, can be diminished by targeted knockout of the responsible genes in moss. Unlike all other plants, moss allows straightforward `humanisation' of plant-derived pharmaceuticals. |
