But scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell have recently been using plant biotechnology to create plants that contain a human gene derived from a human pathogen. The plant creates proteins like those that would be used in a vaccine that can be ingested by humans. The protein from the potato results in production of antibodies to the bacteria in question. Plants are given a little extra sequence of DNA, which allows them to make the vaccine. Humans can then eat the plants, and get the same benefits that would come from receiving a vaccine.
People eat a little piece of transgenic potato.
The antigens formed in the potato keep the E. coli from producing the toxin that starts the diarrhea. It's not terribly palatable. Like other transgenic products, this is a medicine, not a vitamin-fortified product. One problem, Mason says, is that in antigenic preparations, tinkering with the immune system must be done carefully, because too much stimulation against one particular antigen could theoretically dampen other important immune responses. Cornell is not alone in rearranging the innards of vegetables for a good cause.