Plants for delivery of edible vaccines

Over the past decade, scientific advances in molecular biology and immunolo gy have improved understanding of many diseases and led to the development of novel strategies for vaccination. The development of plants expressing v accine antigens is a particularly promising approach. Plant-derived antigen ic proteins have delayed or prevented the onset of disease in animals and h ave proven to be safe and functional in human clinical trials. Future areas of research should further characterize the induction of the mucosal immun e system and appropriate crop species for delivery of animal and human vacc ines.