Abstract
Myoglobin is a heme-protein in the muscle of vertebrates with important functions in the oxygenation of tissues and as a regulator in nitric oxide signaling. Myoglobin from many species is also an important nutritional source of bioavailable iron. In this study, we have successfully produced human myoglobin in the leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana by transient expression using a viral vector delivered by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Analyses confirmed that heme was incorporated and the protein was functional, with observed properties consistent with those of native myoglobins. A relatively high degree of purity could be achieved with low cost methods. The results show the high potential of plants as a production platform for heme proteins, a group of proteins of interest for iron nutrition applications and possible future pharmaceutical development.
Highlights
Myoglobin is a heme-protein in the muscle of vertebrates with important functions in the oxygenation of tissues and as a regulator in nitric oxide signaling
Production of heme-proteins, such as Mb, in plants could be one alternative, by providing an important iron source of plant origin, something of particular importance for vegetarians. Another type of heme-protein produced in yeast using recombinant technology has been used as an additive in commercial food products, in this case the manufacturers primarily motivates this by a wish to mimic the flavor of meat in their vegetarian food[15]
This helps to illustrate how added heme-protein can bring value to plant based food and its consumers. Another reason for interest in the heterologous expression of heme-proteins is for the development of oxygen therapeutics, a class of protein pharmaceuticals being developed with the aim of providing an alternative to donated blood in clinical situations, and often relies on a chemically modified Hb16,17
Summary
Myoglobin is a heme-protein in the muscle of vertebrates with important functions in the oxygenation of tissues and as a regulator in nitric oxide signaling. Production of heme-proteins, such as Mb, in plants could be one alternative, by providing an important iron source of plant origin, something of particular importance for vegetarians Very recently, another type of heme-protein produced in yeast using recombinant technology has been used as an additive in commercial food products, in this case the manufacturers primarily motivates this by a wish to mimic the flavor of meat in their vegetarian food[15]. For common bacterial expression systems, i.e. E_coli, immunogenic lipopolysaccharides complicates the production of safe oxygen therapeutics and adds to the purification burden[18], while the lack of these compounds in plants could be an additional advantage for this expression system For applications such as human nutrition, ethical, environmental and other concerns might make plant-based products more attractive to consumers, compared to those produced using microbial- or animal-based production systems
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