Guy della-Cioppa

Rapid, high-level expression of glycosylated rice α-amylase in transfected plants by an RNA viral vector.

Tobamoviral vectors have been developed for the heterologous expression of glycoproteins in plants. The rice alpha-amylase gene (OS103) was placed under the transcriptional control of a tobamovirus subgenomic promoter in a RNA viral vector. One to two weeks after inoculation, transfected Nicotiana benthamiana plants accumulated glycosylated alpha-amylase to levels of at least 5% total soluble protein. The 46kDa recombinant enzyme was purified, and its structural and biological properties were analyzed. Post-translational modifications of the secreted protein were compared to rice alpha-amylase expressed in amylolytic strains of Pichia pastoris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Endo-H analysis revealed that the alpha-amylase was moderately glycosylated in transfected plants and hyperglycosylated in yeast.

Discovery of Genes Conferring Glyphosate Resistance: Old Technologies and Revolutionary Modern Approaches

Dr. della-Cioppa has 16 years of experience in the Plant Biotechnology Industry working initially in various positions at Monsanto Company (1984-1989) and later at Biosource Technologies, Inc. (1989-current). After completing his Ph.D. (UCLA) and an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology (Shrewsbury, MA), Dr. della-Cioppa joined the Plant Molecular Biology Group at Monsanto Company (St. Louis, MO) and was a key member of the multi-disciplinary team that worked on the early development of Roundup Ready® crops. He has authored or coauthored numerous research papers, book chapters, invited review articles, as well as 12 issued US and European patents. Discovery of Genes Conferring Glyphosate Resistance: Old Technologies and Revolutionary Modern Approaches