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Name: Rivjot
Status: student
Age: 17
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 10/24/2004
Question:
What are the VACCINES TO CURE PLANTS FROM TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS?

Replies:
The following may be helpful. Generally though, plants are used to produce transgenic vaccines.

http://www.tulane.edu/~dmsander/WWW/335/Plant.html

Anthony Brach Ph.D.

Dear Rivjot,

Thank you for your question. It could be read as a very broad and open question, but I think you are referring to some research that has been publicized recently. The research involved an experiment with plants similar to what is done to vaccinate human beings. A specific part of a protein associated with tobacco mosaic virus was expressed in a plant and the plant reacted by stimulating its defenses that fight against the virus. The plant thus became immune to the tobacco mosaic virus without being directly infected by the virus.

Jim Tokuhisa


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