TARGETED GENE INTEGRATION IN PLANTS:
VECTORS, MECHANISMS AND APPLICATIONS FOR PROTEIN PRODUCTION

Prtoject Budget 2,967,000 Euros

Current transgenesis technologies in plants are not accurate enough to secure precise and stable expression of the transgene. Random chromosomal integration of DNA inserts often causes unpredictable misregulation of transcription including complete gene silencing. DNA integration, via homologous recombination (Gene targeting - GT) enables targeted gene disruption or replacement of an endogenous locus by a different gene and thus, expression of a new protein in the precise genomic context of the native gene. Plants can be considered as natural, solar energy powered, and environmentally friendly protein factories that can be genetically improved for production of proteins with therapeutic value. It is crucial, however, that the production of target protein(s) is well controlled in terms of high and steady yield, and tissue-specific deposition allowing for easy harvest, extraction and purification. TAGIP's goal is to develop targeted DNA integration methods to optimize the expression of therapeutic proteins in plants.

The consortium