The Production of an Oral Vaccine Against Hantavirus Through the Introduction of a Nucleocapsid Protein Gene into Alfalfa Sprouts

The production of an oral vaccine against Hantavirus through the introduction of a nucleocapsid protein gene into alfalfa sprouts
Submitted to
BIP-GER
Submitted on
December 6th, 2016
Submitted by
Noortje Notenbaert, Damaris Hansel, Sarah Krueger, Simo Li, Amanda Silva, Ana Julia Azevedo, and Victoria Villicana
Introduction
Hantavirus is carried by infected rodents and can be transmitted to humans when they come into contact with the rodent or their bodily secretions. The infection with Hantavirus is dangerous and can be fatal as it leads to the respiratory disease known as Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). Rodent infested areas are the main source of HPS exposure. There are three main indigenous groups of people that are at high risk of exposure to the HPS and they include: Hoarders, Hikers, and Hillbillies (HHH). These groups of people mostly live in cluttered habitats, and these types of habitats are the ideal housing for rodents. As a result, the HHH group becomes highly prone to contracting the Hantavirus that the rodents carry. Recent Research studies have shown that the Hantavirus is the leading cause of death for hoarders in the U.S., as well as being the second leading cause of death to hillbillies and hikers.
Experimental Plan
1 Creation of A Construct
* Plasmid Construction
The Ti-plasmid in Agrobacterium tumefaciens allows for the transfer of sequences bordered by the left and right T-DNA border sequences into the nuclear genome of plants by using the Trans acting functions of the vir region (Bevan, 1984). To harness A.tumefaciens as a transgene vector, scientists have removed the tumor-inducing section of the T-DNA and they have retained T-DNA border regions and the vir genes. The transgene that will be inserted between the T-DNA border regions that is the position where it is transferred to the plant will become incorporated into the plant`s chromosome (Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, 2004).
* DNA preparation/Analysis
Ecoli and homologous recombination to get it into the plasmid?
E.coli has been described to create an analogous vivo gap repair in an approach as simple as a yeast. Through the transformation of a linear vector(Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid) and the fragments that contain the homologous ends, E. coli laboratory strains would be able to recombine the reactants in vivo and this would generate a closed propagative plasmid. To recombine is an in vivo method whereby genetic engineering utilizes E.coli that uses short 50 base homologies (...