Hemagglutinin Neuraminidase (Hn) Protein of Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus Expressed in Transgenic Tobacco is Biologically Active

Pestis des Petits ruminants virus (PPRV) is a Morbillivirus closely related to Rinderpest virus and measles virus and infects sheep and goats with high mortality rate and morbidity rates. The two surface glycoproteins of PPRV Hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and fusion protein (F) confer protective immunity. As a part of our efforts to develop an edible vaccine for PPRV, we report the expression of HN protein in a model plant tobacco. Full length HN gene from an Indian isolate of PPRV was cloned into the binary vector pBI121 and is under the control of CaMV 35S promoter. The recombinant vector pBIHN was mobilized into Agrobacterium tumefaciens and was used to infect tobacco leaf explants. Presence of HN gene in the transgenic plants was confirmed by PCR and RT-PCR and the expression by immunoblot analysis. The plant expressed HN protein exhibits neuramindase activity.