Oleosin fusion expression systems for the production of recombinant proteins

For the production of recombinant proteins, product purification is potentially difficult and expensive. Plant oleosins are capable of anchoring onto the surface of natural or artificial oil bodies. The oleosin fusion expression systems allow products to be extracted with oil bodies. In vivo, oleosin fusions are produced and directly localized to natural oil bodies in transgenic plant seeds. Via the oleosin fusion technology the thrombin inhibitor hirudin has been successfully produced and commercially used in Canada. In vitro, artificial oil bodies have been used as “carriers” for the recombinant proteins expressed in transformed microbes. In this article, plant oleosins, strategies and limitations of the oleosin fusion expression systems are summarized, alongside with progress and applications. The oleosin fusion expression systems reveal an available way to produce recombinant biopharmaceuticals at large scale.