RECOMBINANT
PROTEIN PRODUCTION USING TRANSGENIC LIVESTOCK
The somatotropin gene from
cows has been cloned and expressed in bacteria thus allowing the production of
large amounts of the hormone, which is known as rBST (recombinant bovine
somatotropin). The rBST is used in the dairy industry to increase milk
production. Unlike in mice, boosting an
adult cow’s somatotropin levels by injection of extra hormone results in
increased milk production, rather than giant cows. Milk from treated cows is
now widely marketed.
At present, bacteria, such as
Escherichia coli, are cultured to make most recombinant proteins, such as human
insulin or somatotropin. Such products are expensive and require a highly
trained work force. However, using livestock to express these products may be
cheaper. Dairy cows produce 10,000 quarts of milk each per year, and an
industry to collect and process milk already exists. To take advantage of this,
several recombinant proteins are now being produced in the milk from transgenic
cows or other farm animals. To achieve this, cloned genes are placed under the
control of a regulatory region that will allow gene expression only in the
mammary gland. Consequently, the gene product will come out in the milk (Fig.
15.3). For small-scale production of proteins for clinical use, transgenic
goats are often used. For example, transgenic goats have been made to produce
recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rTPA), which is used for dissolving
blood clots.
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