Technologies

High Throughput Wheat Germ Protein Expression
Abnova's cell-free protein synthesis system is pioneered by Professor Yaeta Endo of Ehime University, Japan. This high throughput platform is based on the eukaryotic translation apparatus of wheat germ. Wheat embryos store all of the components of translation in a concentrated dried state, ready for protein synthesis as soon as germination starts. Conventional wheat germ extracts contain the RNA N-glycosidase tritin and other inhibitors of translation such as thionin, ribonucleases, deoxyribonucleases, and proteases. These inhibitors originate from the endosperm. Extensive washing of wheat embryos to eliminate endosperm contaminants has resulted in extracts with a high degree of stability and activity. By using mRNA having 5'-cap and a poly(A)-tail with this extract, the translation reaction yields mg quantities of active proteins per ml of reaction volume. This system has significant advantages over other commonly used protein expression systems. With an expression vector designed for large scale protein expression, the platform is amenable to production of many proteins in parallel using robotic instruments. Assessment of the proteins produced by this technology showed many of them retained their correct foldings and biological functions.