Biotechnology Bulletin ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (7): 67-80.doi: 10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2025-1022

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Research Progress in the Expression of Recombinant Proteins in Endosperm Bioreactors

LI Can-ni1, PAN Wei-song1(), WU Tai-ru2, WU Chuan3, Keung Eric Tsang Po3, LI Wei-zhan3   

  1. 1.College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410125
    2.Hunan Nuohexin Biotechnology Co. , Ltd. , Changsha 410000
    3.Department of Science and Environment, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
  • Received:2025-09-24 Online:2026-07-26 Published:2026-07-20
  • Contact: PAN Wei-song E-mail:joux19@163.com

Abstract:

The plant expression system has emerged as an ideal platform for producing recombinant proteins and bioactive metabolites—such as therapeutic proteins, vaccines, enzymes, antibodies, vitamins, flavonoids, and carotenoids—due to its low cost, sustainability, scalability, safety, and environmental friendliness. Among these systems, the plant endosperm is considered as a high-quality bioreactor for synthesizing and storing active substances because of its natural biosynthetic and storage capabilities. This article provides a systematic review of the applications of plant endosperm bioreactors in molecular agriculture and highlights their comprehensive advantages compared to other mainstream expression systems. It focuses on recent research advancements and practical applications involving the production of therapeutic proteins, enzymes, antibodies, and vaccines using endosperm bioreactors. To address the challenge of low expression levels of target proteins in the endosperm system, the article explores optimization strategies aimed at enhancing transcription efficiency. Furthermore, it systematically analyzes the use of glycosylation metabolic engineering to achieve humanized modifications, thereby mitigating the immunogenicity issues associated with plant-derived drugs. Finally, the article discusses key factors currently limiting the commercialization of transgenic plant-derived products, such as regulatory hurdles, public acceptance, and purification costs, and offers a forward-looking perspective on the future development of this technology, emphasizing its significant potential for producing high-value bioproducts using endosperm.

Key words: endosperm bioreactor, plant bioreactor, recombinant protein, promoter, glycosylation modification