Using the omega leader sequence of tobacco mosaic virus to transform tomato fruits with the papillomavirus hpv16 L1 gene to enhance production of the antigenic protein HPV16 L11.

To enhance translation of the L1 protein antigen of the oncogenic human papillomavirus type HPV16 L1, the Ω sequence of the 5'-untranslated region of tobacco mosaic virus was inserted into a genetic construct as an enhancer. To transform plants, A. tumefaciens EHA105 cells were transfected with this construct. After the genetic transformation, the HPV16 L1 protein antigen was detected in tomato fruit in amounts of 287-2330 ng per 1 mg total soluble protein, which significantly exceeds the amount of the protein antigen obtained in our previous studies without using the omega leader sequence.