Plant-Made Nervous Necrosis Virus-Like Particles Protect Fish Against Disease

• Published in: Frontiers in Plant Science
• Main Authors: Johanna Marsian, Daniel L. Hurdiss, Neil A. Ranson, Anneli Ritala, Richard Paley, Irene Cano, George P. Lomonossoff
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2019
• Subjects: Atlantic cod nervous necrosis virus; virus-like particles; transient expression; sea bass; protective immunity; Plant culture; SB1-1110; atlantic cod
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00880; https://doaj.org/article/575aee837fba44c8908e4c6e061e635b

Virus-like particles (VLPs) of the fish virus, Atlantic Cod Nervous necrosis virus (ACNNV), were successfully produced by transient expression of the coat protein in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. VLPs could also be produced in transgenic tobacco BY-2 cells. The protein extracted from plants self-assembled into T = 3 particles, that appeared to be morphologically similar to previously analyzed NNV VLPs when analyzed by high resolution cryo-electron microscopy. Administration of the plant-produced VLPs to sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) showed that they could protect the fish against subsequent virus challenge, indicating that plant-produced vaccines may have a substantial future role in aquaculture.