Translational Enhancer of Tobacco mosaic virus Enhancing Expression of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen in Transgenic Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer Callus

The 5′-nontranslated leader(omega sequence) of Tobacco mosaic virus(TMV) was used as a translational enhancer sequence in the expression of the hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg) gene in transgenic ginseng callus cultures. The adr subtype HBsAg gene was placed under the control of the Cauliflower mosaic virus(CaMV) 35S promoter linking to the TMV leader sequence. The antisense omega sequence was used in a control construct. The resulting constructs cloned in the binary vector pBI121 were used to transform the ginseng callus tissue via the Agrobacterium-mediated procedure. The integration and expression of the HBsAg gene were evaluated by PCR and western blot, respectively. Enzyme-linked immunoassays(ELISA) using a monoclonal antibody directed against human serum-derived HBsAg revealed a three to four-fold enhanced expression of HBsAg in ginseng cells conferred by the TMV omega element.