ANTIGENS PRODUCED IN PLANTS BY INFECTION WITH CHIMERIC PLANT-VIRUSES IMMUNIZE AGAINST RABIES VIRUS AND HIV-1

The coat protein (CP) of alfalfa mosaic virus was used as a carrier mo lecule to express antigenic peptides from rabies virus and HIV. The an tigens were separately cloned into the reading frame of alfalfa mosaic virus CP and placed under the control of the subgenomic promoter of t obacco mosaic virus CP in the 30BRz vector. The in vitro transcripts o f recombinant virus with sequences encoding the antigenic peptides wer e synthesized from DNA constructs and used to inoculate tobacco plants , The plant-produced protein (virus particles) was purified and used f or immunization of mice. Both antigens elicited specific virus-neutral izing antibodies in immunized mice.