Recent Scientific Advances in Plant-Based Vaccines

Dear Colleagues,

In the early 1990s, the idea that transgenic plants might be used to produce ‘edible’ vaccines or other immunotherapeutics began to have traction. Since that time, the overall field that some refer to as ‘molecular pharming’ has gained momentum, with the licensure of the first plant-made veterinary vaccine in 2006, targeting Newcastle Disease Virus, produced in suspension tobacco cells, and the first human drug in 2012 (i.e., glucocerebrosidase for Gaucher’s disease, produced in suspension carrot cells). Advances in plant molecular biology and, in particular, the development of transient transfection platforms further accelerated the pace of discovery in this field, leading to the licensure of the first plant-made human vaccine in 2022, targeting SARS-COV-2. Basic science knowledge and experience with plant-derived vaccine delivery systems as well as plant-origin adjuvants have also greatly expanded during this 30-year period.  

This Special Issue will focus on recent advances in the use of whole plants and plant-derived cells as well as plant-origin materials (e.g., protein and lipid adjuvants) to produce effective vaccines for both human and veterinary purposes. Advances in the development of both prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines will be considered. Manuscripts describing advances in process development for plant-made vaccines are also solicited. Both non-clinical and clinical work are solicited, as well as basic science advances in plant molecular biology that support these activities. Work describing advances in the technical aspects of molecular ‘pharming’ will also be considered.  

Based on your extensive knowledge and experience, we invite you to contribute an original report, original observation, or review that highlights advances in the use of plants in the production of novel vaccines.

Prof. Dr. Brian J. Ward
Dr. Marc-André D’Aoust
Guest Editors

Dr. Sandiswa Mbewana
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• plant-made human vaccines
• plant-made veterinary vaccines
• plant-made monoclonal antibodies
• molecular pharming
• plant molecular biology
• plant-origin adjuvants