PLSC 207 Presentation

Plant Edible
Vaccines
By: Abby Gregory and Amy Stanley
Background
 An edible vaccine is a transgenic plant that

contains genes for an antigen protein to a
virus that elicits an immune response once
ingested
 The first human clinical trial took place in
1997 (University of Maryland School of
Medicine's Center for Vaccines
Development)
 It was a vaccine against E. coli that was
produced in a potato.
 It stimulated an immune response, but
the raw potatoes caused some mild nausea
Methods
Edible Vaccines
Advantages Disadvantages
 Edible  Consistency of dosage
 Reduces the need for medical personnel  Stability of vaccine in fruit
and sterile injection conditions
 Cooking the food may weaken the
 Cost-effective medicine
 Efficient  Acceptance by the general public
 Safe  Could induce allergic reactions
 Free of pathogens and toxins  Close monitoring of plants to prevent
 Doesn't need sterile injection conditions
cross contamination
 DNA or antigen could be released into
 Enhanced compliance in children
surrounding water or animals and spread
 Storage near the site of use throughout the food chain
Measles Vaccine
 The method used in the edible tobacco vaccine experiment was Agrobacterium
 Agrobacterium can transfer a small segment of DNA into the plant genome in a process known
as transformation
 To create an edible measle vaccine from tobacco plant they had to use the Mv-H gene
which is an attenuated version of measles but with an H protein that causes an
immunological protection against the wild type measles
 The Mv-H gene is then transformed into the tobacco plant
 This is then given orally to mice
 The mice produced antibodies from the tobacco plants which developed an immune response
to the wild type measles. When analyzed some mice contained antibody titers that were five
times the levels than humans need for protection
 The mice have also indicated they have a mucosal immune response from the edible tobacco
vaccine which helps protect against diseases that can establish infection in the respiratory
tract.
 Since this experiment was so promising, they have done different clinical trials with potato,
lettuce and rice which do not produce toxic compounds and are better for direct
consumption.
Hepatitis B
 The hepatitis B virus is estimated to have infected 400
million people throughout the globe, making it one of the
most common human pathogens
 The hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is used as a
vaccine against Hepatitis B.
 The HbsAg subtype ayw was cloned into CaMv (Cauliflower
Mosaic virus) plasmid
 The expression of the antigen was found to be higher in
roots of the transgenic potato than in leaf tissues
 The first human trial showed levels of specific antibodies
significantly exceeded the protective level of 10 mIU/mL
in humans
 Statistics show, for example, that only 40 acres would be
required to produce all the annual hepatitis B vaccines for
the entire population of China
 Tomatoes are being grown in guarded greenhouses
 Transgenic lettuce is also being developed
GMO Tomato as Edible COVID Vaccine
 Covid-19 Cases in the United States Covid-19 Cases in the World

 11 Million 54 Million
 Research group at Mexican University
 They are using bioinformatics and computational genetic engineering to identify
candidate antigens for a vaccine that can be expressed in tomato plants. Eating the
fruit from these plants would then confer immunity against COVID-19.
 More than 100 vaccines are being investigated for COVID-19 by universities, public
research centers and private companies. (some already under clinical trial).
Future of Edible Vaccines
 A lot of hurdles need to be overcome, like

acceptance by the population and avoiding cross
contamination
 Could provide a good solution for developing
countries
 Edible vaccines hold great potential, especially in
third world countries where transportation costs,
poor refrigeration and needle use complicate
vaccine administrations.
 Diabetics may someday benefit from an edible
form of insulin.
(2019)
Questions?
Work cited
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7090473/
 https://www.ijmm.org/article.asp?issn=0255-0857;year=2007;volume=25;issue=2;spage=
93;epage=102;aulast=Lal
 https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2020/05/gmo-tomato-as-edible-covid-vaccin
e-mexican-scientists-work-to-make-it-a-reality/
 https://www.biotechnologynotes.com/transgenic-plants/edible-vaccines-applications-ad
vantages-and-limitations/627
 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steve_Wesselingh/publication/11317119_Appetisi
ng_solutions_An_edible_vaccine_for_measles/links/0912f5105f4cf19962000000.pdf
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21881/

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Plant Edible

 An edible vaccine is a transgenic plant that

 Covid-19 Cases in the United States Covid-19 Cases in the World

 A lot of hurdles need to be overcome, like

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