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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #129420
Title: TARGETED GENE SILENCING REMOVES AN IMMUNODOMINANT ALLERGEN FROM SOYBEAN SEEDS

Author
item Herman, Eliot
item HELM, R - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item JUNG, R - DUPONT JOHNSTON, IA
item KINNEY, A - DUPONT EXP. WILMINGTON,DE

Submitted to: Plant Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/23/2003
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: This manuscript outlines the use of biotechnology to remove a major allergen from soybean that adversely affects both humans and animals. The results show that gene silencing can be used to achieve a complete knockout of the accumulation of the major allergen in soybean seeds. Removing this allergen does not result in any collateral consequences on the growth and development of the transgenic soybean plants. No new proteins are induced or accumulated in the allergen knockout seeds. The information contained in this paper can have broad impact and use. The removal of this allergen to alleviate soybean sensitivity by humans and animals has application to improve the quality and utilization of soybean baby formula, processed foods containing soybean protein and in animal feed. Potential users of the allergen knockout soybeans are farmers to produce the transgenic soybeans, food producers that could utilize the soybeans as a new variety and consumers that can benefit from removing a major allergen that affects both humans and farm animals.

Technical Abstract: The wide use of soybean products in processed foods poses potential threat to soybean-sensitive food-allergic individuals. The clinical symptoms of soybean allergy can be manifested as gastric distress or atopic dermatitis and while usually not life threatening, suspected cases of anaphylaxis have been reported. In vitro assays on soybean seed proteins with sera from soy-sensitive individuals have shown that the major storage proteins as well as other minor seed proteins account for IgE-binding. Gly m Bd 30K, a member of the papain superfamily of cysteine proteases also referred to as P34 has been identified as a major allergen in soybean seeds. In this report we have used sense suppression, driven by a seed-specific b-conglycinin promoter, to eliminate the accumulation of Gly m Bd 30 K/P34 in transgenic soybeans. The resulting Gly m Bd 30 K/P34 -null seeds were produced on plants that lacked any obvious developmental or structural phenotype differences when compared with control plants. Two dimensional protein gel analysis revealed that Gly m Bd 30 K/P34 suppression produced no other significant changes in polypeptide pattern. Sera from soy-sensitive individuals showed significantly less reactivity towards protein extracts of Gly m Bd 30 K/P34 -null seeds when compared with extracts from commodity soy lines. Thus the production of a Gly m Bd 30 K/P34 -null line eliminates one of the primary allergens present in soybean seeds.