Modified Bean Seed Protein Phaseolin Did Not Accumulate Stably in Transgenic Tobacco Seeds after Methionine Enhancement Mutations

The major seed storage protein phaseolin of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is deficient in methionine, an essential amino acid for human and animal health. To improve the nutritional quality of common bean, we designed methionine enhancement of phaseolin based on the three-dimensional structure of protein, de novo design principles and genetic information. Amino acid substitution and loop insertion were targeted to the interior and exterior, respectively, of the protein’s β-barrels. First, we introduced the methionine enhancement mutations into phaseolin cDNA, expressed cDNA in Escherichia coli and purified monomeric non-glycosylated proteins. Bi-ophysical analysis of E. coli-expressed proteins demonstrated a similar structural stability of wild-type and mutant phaseolin monomers. Here, we attempted to test the structural stability of the methionine-enhanced phaseolin by introducing phaseolin cDNA to tobacco via Agrobacterium tu-mefaciens-mediated transformation of leaf disks, regenerating transgenic tobacco plants, an