Production of proteins for biopharmaceutical applications in plants

Plants fulfill a variety of criteria that are highly valued in modern cell factories: their cellular machinery is complex and sophisticated; they are exempt of infectious human pathogens; apart from the recombinant protein, t heir cellular content is well known to humans since it is used for nutritio n and in,cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. Plants can be propagated endlessly, their production at a large scale or under controlled condition s has been incorporated into the cultural heritage of all nations and, up t o date, they represent the least expensive biomass that can be produced per unit of volume; some plant species can be considered as renewable sources of molecules that have no mesurable negative impact on the environement.