The Arabidopsis CYSTM α 5′ UTR Increases Protein Production from Transgenes in Plants and Bacteria

Abstract Achieving high levels of transgene expression is often crucial for the effective production of high value pharmaceutical proteins and bioactive compounds. Here, we show a 79-nucleotide sequence of the 5’ UTR of the Arabidopsis thaliana cysteine-rich transmembrane module 1 (CYSTM1 ) significantly increases transient and stable transgene expression at the post-transcriptional level in multicellular plants, A. thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana , in monocotyledon wheat germ extracts, and in the unicellular bacterium Escherichia coli by up to 7-fold. We also show the 79 nt CYSTM α sequence has 50 % higher transgene expression than the broadly used Tobacco Mosaic Virus omega (Ω) sequence in both A. thaliana and N. benthamiana . Taken together, this study provides a short transgene expression enhancer for multicellular and unicellular organisms.