Expression of Human Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen Gene in Transgenic Tobacco

Expression of Human hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) gene in plant was reported for the first time. The recombinant plasmid pRoKⅡ-HBsAg was constructed by inserting HBsAg gene into the downstream of CaMV 35S promoter of binary vector pRoKⅡ and then introduced into Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404. The kanamycin-resistant plants were obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system. It was shown that HBsAg gene was expressed in transgenic tobacco plants and their progenies by ELISA. The spherical particles of ψ 22 nm in the leaf extract of trangenic tobacco were observed by immunosorbent electron microscopy.