Queensland University of Technology researcher using plants to battle COVID-19
April 14, 2020
| Meghan Sapp
He said aid an international biotech company had already been given fast-tracked access to the entire chromosome-level genome sequence of the Australian-native plant Nicotiana benthamiana.
One major problem, once protein-based diagnostic products and vaccines are developed, is their production in bulk and at a low cost.
One solution is to use plants as biofactories for the production. Plants can be grown in large amounts using simple agricultural technologies, that are within reach of developing countries that lack sophisticated protein production methods, such as those using animal cell cultures. This discipline is known as “molecular farming.”
Category: Research