title: Expression of plant sweet protein brazzein in the milk of transgenic mice.
abstract: Sugar, the most popular sweetener, is essential in daily food. However, excessive sugar intake has been associated with several lifestyle-related diseases. Finding healthier and more economical alternatives to sugars and artificial sweeteners has received increasing attention to fulfill the growing demand. Brazzein, which comes from the pulp of the edible fruit of the African plant Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baill, is a protein that is 2,000 times sweeter than sucrose by weight. Here we report the production of transgenic mice that carry the optimized brazzein gene driven by the goat Beta-casein promoter, which specifically directs gene expression in the mammary glands. Using western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry, we confirmed that brazzein could be efficiently expressed in mammalian milk, while retaining its sweetness. This study presents the possibility of producing plant protein-sweetened milk from large animals such as cattle and goats.
authors.affiliation: Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Embryo Engineering, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Daxin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Qingjian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Quanmei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Nana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Xiangjie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Zhanjun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Haijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Hongsheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Liangxue
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002417:Cattle; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006041:Goats / Q000235:genetics; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008892:Milk / Q000378:metabolism*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C090521:brazzein protein, Pentadiplandra brazzeana