title: Plastid Molecular Pharming I. Production of Oral Vaccines via Plastid Transformation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vaccines produced in plants have opened up new opportunities in vaccination.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Among the various categories of vaccines, the recombinant vaccine is generally regarded as the most economical and safest type because it cannot cause disease and does not require large-scale cultivation of pathogens. Due to the low cost of their cultivation, plants may represent viable alternative platforms for producing subunit vaccines. Genetic engineering of plastids is the innovation of the last three decades and has numerous benefits when compared to nuclear transformation. Due to the high level of expression, oral vaccines produced in transplastomic plants do not have to be purified as they can be consumed raw, which, therefore, reduces the cost of preparation, transportation and handling of the vaccines. Oral vaccination also excludes the risk of other infections or contaminations, while compartmentation of the plant cell provides an excellent encapsulation to the antigen within the plastid.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Herein we review the main biotechnological and immunological aspects of the progress achieved in the field of plastid derived edible vaccines during the last decade. As there is a public debate against genetically modified crops, the advantages and limitations of oral vaccines are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Plant Physiology and Molecular Plant Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Bernadett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Berecz
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Plant Physiology and Molecular Plant Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Helga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zelenyánszki
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Plant Physiology and Molecular Plant Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Sára
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pólya
authors.affiliation: Institute of Media Technology and Light Industry Engineering, Óbuda University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Cecília
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tamás-Nyitrai
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Plant Physiology and Molecular Plant Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Mária
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oszvald
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D006801:Humans; D058634:Molecular Farming; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism; D018087:Plastids / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014612:Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014612:Vaccines
keywords: Genetic engineering; molecular pharming; oral vaccine; plastid biotechnology; plastid transformation; transplastomic
  plants