Suitability of different plant species for experimental agroinfection with Plum pox virus-based expression vector for potential production of edible vaccines

Nine herbaceous plant species were tested for susceptibility to Plum pox virus (PPV) by Agrobacterium-mediated delivery of its infectious cDNA clone. Two of them became infected, namely spinach (local infection) and oilseed poppy (systemic infection). As a control, PPV infection was successfully established in plum seedlings following agroinfiltration, thus providing the first report of agroinfection in Prunus species. According to our results, oilseed poppy can be considered as a candidate host for the production of edible vaccines by a PPV-derived expression vector. Keywords: agroinfiltration; virus host; poppy; spinach.