Moss bioreactor
Encyclopedia
Photobioreactor
thumb|upright|[[Moss bioreactor|Moss photobioreactor]] with [[Physcomitrella patens]]A photobioreactor is a bioreactor that incorporates some type of light source to provide photonic energy input into the reactor...
used for the cultivation
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
and propagation
Propagation
Propagation can refer to:*Reproduction, and other forms of multiplication or increase**Plant propagation, the production of more plants by seeds, cuttings, grafting or other methods**Propagation of schema, in artificial reproduction...
of moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es. It is usually used in molecular farming
Molecular farming
Molecular farming is the use of genetically engineered crops to produce compounds with therapeutic value. These crops will become biological factories used to generate drugs and other difficult or expensive products...
for the production of recombinant protein using transgenic moss.
Mosses are very frugal photoautotrophic organisms that have been kept in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
for research purposes since the beginning of the 20th century.
The first moss bioreactors for the model organism
Model organism
A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are in vivo models and are widely used to...
Physcomitrella patens
Physcomitrella patens
Physcomitrella patens is a moss used as a model organism for studies on plant evolution, development and physiology.-Model organism:...
were developed in the 1990s to comply with the safety standards regarding the handling of genetically modified organisms and to gain sufficient biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
for experimental purposes.
Functional Principle
The moss bioreactor is used to cultivate moss in a suspension culture in agitated, and aerated liquid medium. The culture is kept under lighting with temperature and pHPH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
value held constant. The culture medium – often a minimal medium – contains all nutrient
Nutrient
A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...
s and mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s needed for growth of the moss.
To ensure a maximum growth rate, the moss is kept at the protonema
Protonema
A protonema is a thread-like chain of cells that forms the earliest stage of a bryophyte life cycle...
stage by continuous mechanical disruption, e.g. by using rotating blades. . Once the density of the culture has reached a certain threshold, the lack of nutrients and the increasing concentration of phytohormones in the medium triggers the differentiation of the protonema to the adult gametophyte
Gametophyte
A gametophyte is the haploid, multicellular phase of plants and algae that undergo alternation of generations, with each of its cells containing only a single set of chromosomes....
. At this point the culture has to be diluted with fresh medium if it is intended for further use.
According to the intended yield, this basic principle can be adapted to various types and sizes of bioreactors. The cultivation chamber can, for example, consist of a column, a tube, or exchangeable plastic bags.
Production of Biopharmaceuticals
Various biopharmaceuticalBiopharmaceutical
Biopharmaceuticals are medical drugs produced using biotechnology. They include proteins , nucleic acids and living microorganisms like virus and bacteria where the virulence of viruses and bacteria is reduced by the process of attenuation, they can be used for therapeutic or in vivo diagnostic...
s have already been produced using moss bioreactors. Ideally, the recombinant protein can be directly purified from the culture medium . One example for this production method is factor H
Factor H
Factor H is a member of the regulators of complement activation family and is a complement control protein. It is a large , soluble glycoprotein that circulates in human plasma...
: this molecule
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
is part of the human complement system
Complement system
The complement system helps or “complements” the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear pathogens from an organism. It is part of the immune system called the innate immune system that is not adaptable and does not change over the course of an individual's lifetime...
. Defects in the corresponding gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
are associated with human diseases such as severe kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
and retinal disorders. Biologically active recombinant factor H was produced in a moss bioreactor for the first time in 2011.
See also
- BioreactorBioreactorA bioreactor may refer to any manufactured or engineered device or system that supports a biologically active environment. In one case, a bioreactor is a vessel in which a chemical process is carried out which involves organisms or biochemically active substances derived from such organisms. This...
- PhotobioreactorPhotobioreactorthumb|upright|[[Moss bioreactor|Moss photobioreactor]] with [[Physcomitrella patens]]A photobioreactor is a bioreactor that incorporates some type of light source to provide photonic energy input into the reactor...
- Molecular farmingMolecular farmingMolecular farming is the use of genetically engineered crops to produce compounds with therapeutic value. These crops will become biological factories used to generate drugs and other difficult or expensive products...
- Physcomitrella patensPhyscomitrella patensPhyscomitrella patens is a moss used as a model organism for studies on plant evolution, development and physiology.-Model organism:...