A modified TMV-based vector facilitates the expression of longer foreign epitopes in tobacco.

Based upon a mutant isolated from tobacco infected with a recombinant tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), a new TMV-based vector was developed in which four to six C-terminal amino acid residues were deleted from the viral coat protein (CP) subunit. The new vector was quite similar to the original TMV-based vector, which all expressed a well characterized epitope peptide F11 (P142–A152) of VP1 from foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotype O in tobacco, in the infectivity, yield of the virus particles and more importantly protective activity of F11 in guinea pigs and swine against the FMDV. Furthermore, the capacity of the length of foreign peptide encoded by this new vector was much improved to successfully express a peptide F25 containing two fused epitopes F14 (R200–L213) and F11 of FMDV VP1, which was failed using the original vector in tobacco. Although animal assays indicated that such expressed F25 was not as efficient as F11 in the immunity, possibly due to lack of a spacer arm between the two fused epitopes, the new TMV-based vector may meet the requirement of expressing longer foreign peptides for different vaccines and other medicines.