Using transgenic plant-based production and delivery systems to develop an avian influenza vaccine

Avian influenza (AI) is common in birds and can cause devastating outbreaks in chickens. New AI vaccines which are heat stable and easy to administer (oral) are urgently needed to help protect Australia's poultry industry. This project is based on the hypothesiss that an oral, plant-made, AI vaccine will protect chickens from disease. We wil investigate the ability of different plant-based systems to produce AI vaccines and evaluate their protective efficacy in mouse and chicken experiments, thereby providing proof-of-principle for an alternative production and delivery system. Plant-made vaccines represent a rapid and feasible alternative to traditional egg-based production systems.