title: A trial of production of the plant-derived high-value protein in a plant factory: photosynthetic photon fluxes affect the accumulation of recombinant miraculin in transgenic tomato fruits.
abstract: One of the ultimate goals of plant science is to test a hypothesis obtained by basic science and to apply it to agriculture and industry. A plant factory is one of the ideal systems for this trial. Environmental factors affect both plant yield and the accumulation of recombinant proteins for industrial applications within transgenic plants. However, there have been few reports studying plant productivity for recombinant protein in closed cultivation systems called plant factories. To investigate the effects of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) on tomato fruit yield and the accumulation of recombinant miraculin, a taste-modifying glycoprotein, in transgenic tomato fruits, plants were cultivated at various PPFs from 100 to 400 (µmol m(-2) s(-)1) in a plant factory. Miraculin production per unit of energy used was highest at PPF100, although miraculin production per unit area was highest at PPF300. The commercial productivity of recombinant miraculin in transgenic tomato fruits largely depended on light conditions in the plant factory. Our trial will be useful to consider the trade-offs between the profits from production of high-value materials in plants and the costs of electricity.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Tadayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiwasa-Tanase
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizoguchi
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ezura
mesh_terms: D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005638:Fruit / Q000378:metabolism; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D010788:Photosynthesis; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C008533:miraculin protein, Synsepalum dulcificum