RBD ve nucleocapsıd füzyon proteininin mühendisliği, üretimi ve karakterizasyonu

SARS-CoV-2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, is a singlestranded RNA virus that causes the infection known as COVID-19 in humans. SARSCoV-2 has led to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused loss of life in millions deficit worldwide. Since the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of preventive and curative treatments has gained importance. The rapid variation of SARSCoV-2 and the low response of the virus to treatments have brought the issue of a universal COVID-19 vaccine as topic. The RBD subunit of the spike protein of SARSCoV-2 recognizes the host's ACE2 receptor and initiates the infection by binding. The conservation of the RBD subunit among SARS-CoV-2 variants has led to the development of therapeutic agents. The specific biochemical structure of the nucleocapsid protein, its role in the infection process brought about its use as a therapeutic protein bring a different interpretation from other studies. Recombinant RBD and nucleocapsid fusion protein acts as an antigen by triggering immunity before infection develops in the host. The aim of this thesis was the production of a recombinant fusion protein comprising of RBD and nucleocapsid proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana plants and compare its functional activity with antigen cocktail, comprising of recombinant RBD and nucleocapsid, which was previously produced in Mammedov's laboratory and characterized. For this purpose, the engineered fusion protein was expressed using plant expression vector and produced fusion protein was purified from N. benthamiana plant and characterized. The production and characterization of the fusion protein within the scope of this master's thesis is still ongoing in our laboratory. Immunogenicity studies will examine the antibody titers in mice. When the immunogenicity studies are completed, it is expected that the fusion protein may induce high antibody titers like the cocktail antigens and will be a promising approach for vaccine research against SARSCoV-2.