Download LEVERAGING THE PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY TOOLBOX FOR

LEVERAGING THE PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY TOOLBOX FOR
AQUACULTURE: PRODUCTION OF PROTEIN THERAPEUTANTS FOR
PROMOTING FISH IMMUNE HEALTH
Lana Elkins1, Alyssa Weyer2, Brandi Mize3, Maureen C. Dolan123§
1
Molecular Biosciences Program, 2Arkansas Biosciences Institute 3Department of Biological Sciences,
Arkansas State University-Jonesboro, P.O. Box 639, State University, AR 72467 USA
ABSTRACT
With the continued growth of the aquaculture industry there is a need for innovative strategies in
managing disease outbreak. The cytokine interleukin-22 (IL-22) has emerged as a possible therapeutic
target for both mammals and fish and has been correlated with protection under pathogen challenge.
Plant-based production systems have the potential to effectively manufacture and bring unique efficacyenhancing features to increase the utility and value of recombinant vaccines and therapeutics.
Importantly plant bioproduction offers advantages of low cost for commodity markets like aquaculture, is
readily scalable and is environmentally friendly. Our lab has focused on producing fish IL-22 for both
catfish and rainbow trout as classic warm- and cold-water model fish respectively. Plant-expressed
recombinant fish IL-22 has been produced on this platform with the goal of administering this biologic
orally or by immersion to trigger the fish’s immune system. IL-22 is known to induce production of
natural antimicrobials and tissue repair proteins and may serve as an alternative to antibiotics or a disease
preventative at critical stages in aquaculture production. Here data is presented on the expression and
purification of catfish IL-22 using the Agro-mediated transient tobacco production system. This purified
product will ultimately be tested in vitro using catfish gill cell cultures and in vivo animal testing studies.
Activity is assessed by production of antimicrobial peptides and tissue repair proteins using qPCR, MIC,
and wounding assays. Additional technologies in the lab to enhance stability and improve delivery of fish
IL-22 will be discussed.
§
Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 870 680 4359; Fax: 1 870 680 4348. E-mail address: [email protected]