[Expression of hepatitis B surface antigen gene in ginseng cell]

The recombinant plasmid pBIBSa containing the HBsAg DNA fragment was transferred into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 directly. Ginseng cells were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying pBIBSa. The ginseng cell lines carrying HBsAg-S gene were obtained. Transgenic cells were checked for the presence of target gene using PCR and RT-PCR. Samples containing the target gene showed a clear band at the site of 700 bp by agarose electrophoresis analysis (Figs. 2, 3). Expression levels determined by ELISA showed maximum expression levels of 184 ng HBsAg/g FW and 0.009% of the total soluble protein. HBsAg in ginseng cells were located both on the membrane and in the nuclei (Fig. 4).