The Malaysian Rubber Board
The custodian of the rubber industry in Malaysia.
Contact
CIRAD
Biological Systems Department , UMR DAP,
Avenue Agropolis - TA A-96
34398 Montpellier Cedex 5 - France
Tel: +33 4 67 61 71 27 - Fax: +33 4 67 61 55 96
Hevein gene promoter
A cellular protein factory in hevea latex.
Technicals features
The latex-producing cells in rubber trees are a real cellular factory, devoted to producing large amounts of rubber. Genetic transformation of rubber trees means that it is now possible to produce exogenous proteins within latex, for instance for therapeutic purposes, continuously and at little cost. A promoter of the hevein gene, one of the most abundant proteins in latex, has been isolated with a view to optimuizing the expression of these transgenes in latex.
Main advantages
- The promoter ensures a high level of transgene expression, not only in rubber trees but also in rice and in Arabidopsis . Its activity is stimulated by wounds and by parasitic infections.
- The promoter serves to ensure optimum transgene expression in the latex-producing cells of rubber trees, and potentially in other latex-producing plants.
Intellectual rights
Patented process jointly owned by CIRAD and MRB.
Partnership kind
CIRAD and the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) are looking for partners in the biotechnologies sector with a view to marketing the promoter as a "green factory" to make proteins of commercial interest.