Patent ID: 8158857

Claim:
A method of producing recombinant human serum albumin (HSA) in monocot plant seeds, comprising the steps of: (a) transforming a monocot plant cell with a chimeric gene comprising (i) a promoter from the gene of a maturation-specific monocot plant storage protein, operably linked to a first DNA sequence encoding a monocot plant seed-specific signal sequence capable of targeting a polypeptide linked thereto to a monocot plant seed endosperm cell, wherein the promoter operably linked to the signal sequence comprises SEQ ID NO:6; and (ii) a second DNA sequence encoding human serum albumin (HSA), linked in translation frame with the first DNA sequence, wherein the first DNA sequence and the second DNA sequence together encode a fusion protein comprising an N-terminal signal sequence and HSA; (b) growing a monocot plant from the transformed monocot plant cell for a time sufficient to produce seeds containing HSA; and (c) harvesting the seeds from the plant, wherein HSA constitutes at least about 3.0% of the total soluble protein in the harvested seeds.