Transgenic Plants as Producers of Supersweet Protein Thaumatin II

Abstract

Thaumatin II is a supersweet protein derived from the West-African plant Thaumatococcus daniellii Benth. It is a perspective low-calorie sugar substitute for food and pharmaceutical industries. Because of the limitations of its natural sources, obtaining recombinant thaumatin using plant-based expression systems is a promising field of research. This review summarizes many years of research focusing on the physicochemical properties of thaumatins I and II, their roles in plants as pathogenesis-related proteins, and the specific characteristics of their taste perception. A special attention is paid to the detailed description of the studies on obtaining transgenic plants that have been transformed with thaumatin II gene in order to improve their agronomic and consumer properties as well as to obtain recombinant thaumatin for industrial use. Further directions of the research focusing on such areas as obtaining transgenic plants to produce recombinant thaumatin and developing the technologies for its isolation and purification are discussed.