Plant-produced encapsulin displays non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica antigens and assembles into mosaic nanoparticles.
Charron CA, Kaldis A, Shamriz S, Renaud JB, Diarra MS
Summary
PubMedWhy it matters This matters because the chicken, eggs, and turkey on your plate are the leading sources of Salmonella outbreaks, and plant-grown vaccines could offer a cheaper, scalable way to make those flocks — and your food — safer.
Researchers used tobacco plants as tiny living factories to grow protein 'cage' particles decorated with bits of a Salmonella surface protein. The idea is that chickens injected with these particles would learn to fight off Salmonella before it ever reaches our food supply. They found the plants worked best when the protein was directed into the chloroplasts — the same green structures that power photosynthesis.
chevron_right Technical Details
Scientists engineered tobacco plants to produce protein nanoparticles carrying Salmonella antigens — a step toward plant-made vaccines that could protect poultry flocks from the bacteria responsible for most Salmonella food poisoning in humans.
Key Findings
Five different versions of the Salmonella-antigen fusion protein were successfully produced in tobacco plant leaves, targeting either chloroplasts or the cell cytosol.
Chloroplast-targeted versions accumulated at levels exceeding 0.7 mg per gram of fresh leaf tissue — the highest yield achieved in the study.
The fusion proteins self-assembled into mosaic nanoparticles, meaning the plant-produced components can spontaneously form the multi-antigen structures needed for vaccine activity.
Abstract Preview
Foodborne illnesses have major public health and economic impacts. Non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica serovars (Salmonella), associated with the consumption of contaminated poultry products, are amo...
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