Where is gp120 expressed in the transgenic corn plant?
We express the protein in the corn seed itself for several reasons. This is the edible part of the plant and there is a high concentration of protein, which happens to be stable for a long period of time. Also, this part of the plant can be formulated into something really palatable for people to eat. It does not change the taste of corn, and we can [process] it into cornmeal, for example, or other products that people would want to eat. Is gp120 expressed in native form in the corn seed? Yes, it is. What about the quantities of gp120 expressed? We screen our transgenic plants for a while until we select the ones that have the right level of expression. We have found that when we propagate these, their level of expression is consistent and stable. More importantly, once the protein is in grain it is stable for a long period of time. We have had proteins expressed in corn grain that remained stable in the seed for up to 2 years. This is very important for vaccines because of the possibi
