Molecular farming
Molecular farming refers to the use of plants as biofactories to produce pharmaceuticals with value, such as viral particles, enzymes, antibodies, and others, through genome engineering. When compared with alternative systems, such as bacteria or animal cells, plants or plant cell cultures allow the scale up of production in a cost-effective manner, without requiring complex technology. Plants can additionally open doors to the development of edible pharmaceuticals, facilitating global supply. Motivated by recent increased demand for vaccines and advances in pharmaceutical production, there has been a renewed interest in molecular farming as a promising source of compounds of interest. Though stage II/III clinical trials for pharmaceuticals produced in plants are already ongoing, the range of compounds currently in the market is still limited and challenges remain regarding yield and public acceptance.
This Collection invites original research on the potential of plants and algae as biofactories to produce added value compounds, from the heterologous expression and characterization of proteins or small molecules, to innovative purification methods.
Submitting a paper for consideration
To submit your manuscript for consideration at Scientific Reports as part of this Collection, please follow the steps detailed on this page. On the first page of our online submission system, under “I’m submitting:” select the option “A research article”. Under the “Details” tab, authors should select the Collection title: “Molecular farming” from the drop-down option. Authors should express their interest in the Collection in their cover letter.
Please ensure that your manuscript is submitted before midnight GMT on the listed deadline date. The submission system will close at exactly 00:00 GMT on the following day, so late submissions cannot be accepted.
Accepted papers are published on a rolling basis as soon as they are ready.
For more details refer here