Potential Applications of Plant Biotechnology against SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus responsible for an ongoing human pandemic (COVID-19). There is a massive international effort underway to develop diagnostic reagents, vaccines, and antiviral drugs in a bid to slow down the spread of the disease and save lives. One part of that international effort involves the research community working with plants, bringing researchers from all over the world together with commercial enterprises to achieve the rapid supply of protein antigens and antibodies for diagnostic kits, and scalable production systems for the emergency manufacturing of vaccines and antiviral drugs. Here, we look at some of the ways in which plants can and are being used in the fight against COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; molecular farming; pandemic; transgenic plants; transient expression; virus-like particles.

Figure 1

The Applications of Plants for the Production of Diagnostic Reagents, Vaccine Candidates, and Antiviral Proteins to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic. Blue arrows show potential routes for diagnostic reagents. Black arrows show additional routes for vaccines and therapeutics for human use. A tobacco plant is shown, representing both transient expression and stably transformed transgenic plants as production platforms. The figure includes images from Biorender (https://biorender.com/). The structure of griffithsin bound to high-mannose glycans was generated using NGL viewer based on Protein Data Bank file 3LL2. Abbreviations: RBD, receptor-binding domain; SARS-CoV-2, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; VLP, virus-like particle.

Figure 2

Structure of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Showing the Prominent Position of the Trimeric Spike Protein. Public domain image originally produced by the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA, USA.