PLANT-DERIVED IMMUNOCONTRACEPTIVE VACCINES

The use of transgenic or virus-infected plants to produce vitally need ed vaccines for developing nations has been made possible by rapid adv ances in plant molecular biology and biotechnology during the last dec ade. Plant-based vaccines would be a welcome development for many impo verished countries that lack the capital-intensive infrastructure requ ired to produce much-needed vaccines, The approach would also be ideal ly suited to the delivery of oral immunocontraceptive vaccines to a wi de range of herbivore species. This review looks at the progress made to date in the use of plants for vaccine production, how this technolo gy may be used in the future to deliver immunocontraceptive vaccines t o free-ranging wildlife species, and the many problems that will have to be overcome if this promising approach is to ever 'bear fruit'.