GM alfalfa expresses Food and Mouth Disease vaccine

Scientists have long worked on edible vaccines which are expressed in food crops. Such a vaccine production method could yield vaccines which do not require refrigeration or strict cold storage, making them stable, and making them ideal for use in developing countries. To date, vaccines for six infectious diseases have been successfully expressed in plants: diarrhea, Norwalk virus, respiratory syncytial virus, rabies, Hepatitis B, and measles.

One such infectious disease is Foot and Mouth Disease, or FMD. FMD is caused by a virus, and can infect domestic animals which produce milk and meat. María J. Dus Santos Instituto de Virología and colleagues from Buenos Aires, Argentina document their first shot at making an edible FMD virus in “Development of transgenic alfalfa plants containing the foot and mouth disease virus structural polyprotein gene P1 and its utilization as an experimental immunogen.” Their work appears in Vaccine.

Through Agrobacterium transfer, researchers introduced the gene for one of the FMD virus' proteins into alfalfa plants. What resulted was transgenic alfalfa producing the virus polyprotein. Researchers then fed the transgenic crop to mice, to induce a weak immune response in mice, prompting them to produce antibodies to the FMD virus. When infected with FMD, none of the mice were infected.

Source: CropBiotech Update

Source: ScienceDirect

Development of transgenic alfalfa plants containing the foot and mouth disease virus structural polyprotein gene P1 and its utilization as an experimental immunogen
María J. Dus Santos, Consuelo Carrillo, Fernando Ardila, Raúl D. Ríos, Pascual Franzone, María E. Piccone, Andrés Wigdorovitz^, and Manuel V. Borca
Instituto de Virología “S. Rivenson” C.I.C.V.y A., INTA-Castelar, Hurlingham (1712) Pcia. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Instituto de Genética “E. A. Favret” C.I.C.V.y A., INTA-Castelar, Hurlingham (1712) Pcia. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Plum Island Animal Desease Center, ARS, USDA, Greenport, NY 11944, USA

Abstract

The use of transgenic plants as vectors for the expression of viral and bacterial antigens has been increasingly tested as an alternative methodology for the production of experimental vaccines. Here, we report the production of transgenic alfalfa plants containing the genes encoding the polyprotein P1 and the protease 3C of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV). The immunogenicity of the expressed products was tested using a mouse experimental model. Parenterally immunized mice developed a strong antibody response and were completely protected when challenged with the virulent virus. This report demonstrates the possibility of using transgenic plants to express polyprotein P1 and the protease 3C of FMDV and their utilization as effective experimental immunogens.

ScienceDirect subscribers can read the complete article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2004.11.014.