Application of conventional and new biotechnological approaches for improving of morphinane alkaloids production

More than 12,000 alkaloids are known in plants, mostly used as medicine with a world market value of about 4 billion US$. Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the most important economic source of morphinane alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, thebaine, narcotine and papaverine that are exploited by the pharmaceutical industry as analgesics, antitussives and anti-spasmodics. With regard to increasing demand for these compounds, the aim of this review is presenting an outlook of classical breeding programs that successfully applied for enhancing the alkaloid content of opium poppy. The latest biotechnological approaches also are discussed to give an outlook for future trends and possibilities

Isolation, cloning and expression of the brucella melitensis Omp31 gene

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans either from animals or from their products. Although brucellosis can be found worldwide, the Mediterranean Basin, South and Central America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East have currently been listed as high-risk regions. The genus Brucella is classified in at least nine species. Brucella melitensis is the global pathogenic species of Brucella. The outer membrane protein 31, [Omp31] from B. melitensis is considered as a protective immunogen and an important candidate vaccine. Contamination of purified Omp31 protein by biochemical methods has made some restrictions in practical experiments. In this study, the Omp31 coding gene of B. melitensis Rev 1 strain was inserted in pET32b[+] plasmid with extra His-tag sequence. The integrity of the constructed plasmid was confirmed using restriction enzyme mapping and sequencing. Omp31 was expressed after induction with IPTG in Escherichia coli BL21. Recombinant Omp31 [rOmp31] was purified immunoblotting confirmed immunereactivity of rOmp31. Obtained rOmp31 could be useful as a research experimental tool in protection assays to find its potential as a vaccine candidate