Exploiting plant synthetic biology for the production of glycoproteins in plant chloroplasts.

Vaccination has played a major role in reducing the health burden of infectious diseases. It offers an effective route by which serious infections, usually of the young, can be effectively eradicated. The most effective vaccines to prevent infections are conjugate vaccines. These are made by chemically joining a polysaccharide from the pathogen to a carrier protein. A major drawback of the current methodology for the generation of conjugate vaccine is the cost of production and the hazards associated with growing large amounts of pathogen. This proposed work will address these problems by synthesising conjugate vaccines directly in plant chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are plant organelles that carry out photosynthesis. Localising conjugate vaccine production inside the chloroplast will facilitate purification and permit large amounts of material to be produced. In the future this approach may allow the purification and manufacture of vaccines from edible plants for oral immunisation.