Genetic Manipulation and Bioreactor Culture of Plants as a Tool for Industry and Its Applications

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in interest in the use of transgenic plants as sources of valuable secondary metabolites or recombinant proteins. This has been facilitated by the advent of genetic engineering technology with the possibility for direct modification of the expression of genes related to the biosynthesis of biologically active compounds. A wide range of research projects have yielded a number of efficient plant systems that produce specific secondary metabolites or recombinant proteins. Furthermore, the use of bioreactors allows production to be increased to industrial scales, which can quickly and cheaply deliver large amounts of material in a short time. The resulting plant production systems can function as small factories, and many of them that are targeted at a specific operation have been patented. This review paper summarizes the key research in the last ten years regarding the use of transgenic plants as small, green biofactories for the bioreactor-based production of secondary metabolites and recombinant proteins; it simultaneously examines the production of metabolites and recombinant proteins on an industrial scale and presents the current state of available patents in the field.

Keywords: bioreactors; genetic manipulation; patents; recombinant proteins; secondary metabolites; transgenic plant cultures.

Figure 1

PRISMA flow diagram demonstrating screening method for article [26].

Figure 2

The types of bioreactors most often used for the cultivation of plant cultures in vitro. (A) Bubble column bioreactor, (B) Stirred tank bioreactor, (C) Nutrient mist or sprinkle bioreactor, (D) Wave-mixed bioreactor, (E) Temporary immersion system.

Figure 3

Schematic of the selected secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathway of transgenic plants with incorporated genes. The enzymes marked in red are expressed by plant species presented in Table 1.

Figure 4

General strategy for the use of in vitro plant cultures in bioreactors for the production of recombinant proteins on an industrial scale.