Plant-based solutions for veterinary immunotherapeutics and prophylactics

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Agricultural Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Rising antibiotic resistance in pathogens poses a significant threat to global health and healthcare systems.
• Extensive antibiotic use in livestock contributes to the spread of resistant strains, increasing foodborne illnesses and economic burdens.
• Consumer demand for antibiotic-free meat products and the One Health Initiative necessitate alternative disease control strategies like vaccination and prophylactics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore plant-based platforms as a scalable and cost-effective solution for producing vaccines and biopharmaceuticals.
• To address the challenges in livestock immunization by leveraging advancements in plant biotechnology.
• To highlight the potential of plant expression systems for developing novel prophylactic and therapeutic solutions.

Main Methods:

• Review of current plant biotechnology developments for recombinant protein production.
• Analysis of the advantages of plant-based platforms over conventional systems for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Examination of challenges and opportunities in livestock immunization strategies.

Main Results:

• Plant-based platforms offer advantages such as low cost, rapid scalability, and reduced risk of animal pathogens for producing recombinant proteins.
• Edible vaccines and prophylactics derived from plants could eliminate the need for cold chain storage and simplify mass administration.
• Several companies are actively developing and commercializing plant-based platforms for therapeutic protein production.

Conclusions:

• Plant biotechnology presents a promising avenue for developing sustainable and efficient alternatives to antibiotics in livestock disease management.
• Scalable production of vaccines and therapeutics using plant systems can help mitigate the economic and public health impacts of antibiotic resistance.
• Further development in plant expression systems is crucial for large-volume manufacturing of essential biopharmaceuticals for both human and animal health.