PRODUCTION OF FOREIGN NUCLEIC ACIDS AND POLYPEPTIDES IN PLANT SYSTEMS

摘要

The present invention provides systems and methods for producing a nucleic acid or protein in young plants. Typically, the young plants are grown in a contained, regulatable environment. In some embodiments, expression of a pharmaceutically active protein in the young plants is controlled by an exogenously inducible promoter or a viral promoter. In some embodiments, the young plants are edible and may be eaten live or preferably harvested live to preserve the maximal biological activity of the nucleic acid or protein. In some embodiments, the young plant is a young pea plant or a young Nicotiana plant.