Patent ID: 9644188
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: C07K,C12N

Claim:
1. An isolated recombinant expression vector comprising a promoter operably linked to a nucleic acid molecule encoding a mutant flock house virus (FHV) B2 protein that possesses: (i) a reduced ability to form a homodimer as compared to a wild type FHV B2 protein, (ii) an enhanced ability to act as a suppressor of RNA silencing as compared to a wild type FHV B2 protein, and (iii) an amino acid sequence that shares at least about 85% identity with the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein: the expression vector is configured to express, in at least one of a plant cell and an animal cell, the mutant FHV B2 protein encoded by the nucleic acid sequence, and the mutant FHV B2 protein comprises an alanine residue at position 4 of SEQ ID NO: 1, an alanine residue at position 20 of SEQ ID NO: 1, an alanine residue at position 29 of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a combination thereof.