The 1H-NMR methodology used in the study of genetically modified (GM) foods is discussed. Transgenic lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv "Luxor") over-expressing the ArabidopsisKNAT1 gene is presented as a case study. Twenty-two water-soluble metabolites (amino acids, organic acids, sugars) present in leaves of conventional and GM lettuce were monitored by NMR and quantified at two developmental stages....

Biotin-binding proteins (BBPs), such as avidin and streptavidin, represent potent insect control compounds which could be delivered via transgenic plants. The effects of BBPs on some pasture pests were determined. Black field cricket nymphs (Teleogryllus commodus) had significantly reduced growth and survival when fed on lettuce leaves painted with purified avidin. Adult clover root weevils (Si...

The infectious hepatitis B virus represents 42 nm spherical double-shelled particles. However, analysis of blood from hepatitis B virus carriers revealed the presence of smaller 22 nm particles consisting of a viral envelope surface protein. These particles are highly immunogenic and have been used in the design of hepatitis B virus vaccine produced in yeast. Upon expression in yeast, these pro...

background: human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (hg-csf) can serve as valuable biopharmaceutical for research and treatment of the human blood cancer. transplastomic plants have been emerged as a new and high potential candidate for production of recombinant biopharmaceutical proteins in comparison with transgenic plants due to extremely high level expression, biosafety and many other a...

Vegetables are essential for well-balanced diets. About 3 billion people in the world are malnourished due to imbalanced diets. Vegetables can contribute to the prevention of malnutrition disorders. Genetic engineering enables vegetable breeders to incorporate desired transgenes into elite cultivars, thereby improving their value considerably. It further offers unique opportunities for improvin...

Lactuca sativa is widely used as a leafy vegetable belonging to the Asteraceae family. Cotyledonary leaves of in vitro lettuce seedlings were transformed by plasmids containing the GCHI gene. Also the effects of number of days of pre-cultivation and co-cultivation of explants were examined on the transformation frequency. After co-cultivation, the explants were transferred onto the regeneration...

BACKGROUND Human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (hG-CSF) can serve as valuable biopharmaceutical for research and treatment of the human blood cancer. Transplastomic plants have been emerged as a new and high potential candidate for production of recombinant biopharmaceutical proteins in comparison with transgenic plants due to extremely high level expression, biosafety and many other ad...