Porcine lactoferrin expression in transgenic rice and its effects as a feed additive on early weaned piglets.

The purpose of this study is to determine the growth performance and immune characteristics of early weaned piglets receiving rice bran expressing porcine lactoferrin as a feed additive. Full-length cDNA encoding porcine lactoferrin (LF) driven by a rice actin promoter was transformed into rice plants, and its integration into the rice genome was verified by Southern blot analysis. The expression of recombinant LF (rLF) in whole grains and rice bran was also confirmed, and the amount of rLF accumulated in rice bran was estimated by immunoblot assay to be approximately 0.