Production of Engineered Polymers in Plants

The DNA construction to right represents the T-DNA region of a plasmid that has been constructed to express a copolymer of collagen and spidroin 2. It will be introduced into the genome of Nicotiana tabacum using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens vector and transgenic plants will be regenerated. Expression levels of the transgene will be examined through techniques such as RNA gel blots and immunoblots. These analyses will reveal how much of the protein is being produced and if expression levels are different for various parts of the plant (expression profiling). Plants producing suitable levels of protein will be used for extraction and the recombinant protein analyzed.