• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.243-249
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• 2010

Molecular farming is production of pharmaceutically and industrially important proteins in plants. Plants and plant cell culture systems have been used as bio-factory to produce recombinant proteins such as monoclonal antibodies, enzymes, vaccines, hormones, interleukins, commercial enzymes and etc. The terms molecular farming, biofarming, molecular pharming, phytomanufacturing, recombinant or plant-made industrials, planta-pharma, plant bioreactors, plant biofactory, and pharmaceutical gardening are used interchangeably. Molecular farming can provide safe and inexpensive pharmaceutical proteins as well as commercial ones. In spite of several advantages of molecular farming such as safety and inexpensive cost, there are also a couple of drawbacks in the existing technology. One of them is low expression level of target gene in plants, which has been improved by optimizing gene-based codon usage, screening of strong promoters, expression of transcription factors, subcellular targeting of target proteins, chloroplast transformation, and transient expression using viral expression system (magnifection). Some plant-based commercial proteins have already been in markets and more than twenty plant-based pharmaceuticals have been in clinical trials, from that we can expect that several plant-based pharmaceutical proteins will be seen in the markets in the near future.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.95-101
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• 2002

Molecular faming has the potential to provide large amounts of recombinant protein for use in diagnostics and as therapeutics. Various strategies have been developed to enhance the expression level, stability, and native folding of recombinant proteins produced in plants. Few investigations into the subcellular distribution of recombinant proteins within plant cells have been published despite the potential to increase the expression level and impact the purification process. This review article discusses the current strategies used for targeting recombinant proteins to various subcellular locations and the advantages of targeting to seed oil bodies for molecular farming applications. Specifically, the affinity capture of antibodies using recombinant oilbodies is discussed.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.283-297
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• 2000

Seeds are an ideal repository for recombinant proteins in molecular farming applications. However, in order to use plant seeds efficiently for the production of such proteins, it is necessary to understand a number of fundamental biological properties of seeds. This includes a full understanding of promoters which function in a seed-specific manner, the subcellular targeting of the desired polypeptide and the final form in which a protein is stored. Once a biologically active protein has been deposited in a seed, it is also critical that the protein can be extracted and purified efficiently. In this review, these issues are examined critically to provide a number of approaches which may be adopted for production of recombinant proteins in plants. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between subcellular localization and protein extraction and purification. The robustness and flexibility of seed-based production is illustrated by examples close to or already in commercial production.

• The Microorganisms and Industry
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.4-7
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• 2007

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2000

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.15-18
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• 2005

• Mycobiology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 2008

Red pepper (Capsicum annum L.) roots and soils representing different agricultural management practices such as conventional (CON), no-chemical (NOC), and organic farming systems (ORG) were collected from 32 farm field sites in Kyunggi, Korea to investigate the effects of these agricultural practices on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. ORG inoculum significantly increased plant growth compared to inoculum from CON and NOC. A community analysis of AM fungi (AMF) using morphological features of spores revealed that AMF spore abundance and species diversity were significantly higher in ORG than in CON. Additionally, a community analysis of AMF colonizing roots using a molecular technique revealed higher AMF diversity in ORG than in CON. These results suggest that agricultural practices significantly influence AM fungal community structure and mycorrhizal inoculum potential.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.110-110
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.256-257
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• 2003

• Mycobiology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.272-276
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• 2009

In this study, eight soil samples were collected from organic and conventional farms in a central area of South Korea. Spore communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and glomalin, a glycoprotein produced by AMF, were analyzed. Spores of Glomus clarum, G. etunicatum, G. mosseae, G. sp., Acaulospora longula, A. spinosa, Gigaspora margarita, and Paraglomus occultum were identified at the study sites, based on morphological and molecular characteristics. While Acaulospora longula was the most dominant species in soils at organic farms, Paraglomus occultum was the most dominant species in soils at conventional farms. Species diversity and species number in AMF communities found in soils from organic farms were significantly higher than in soils from conventional farms. Glomalin was also extracted from soil samples collected at organic and conventional farms and was analyzed using both Bradford and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The glomalin content in soils from organic farms was significantly higher than in soils from conventional farms. These results indicate that agricultural practices significantly affect AMF abundance and community structure.