biostudies-literatureUnknown14Santoni MThe COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for rapid and cost-effective diagnostic tools. Serological tests, particularly those measuring antibodies targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the virus, play a pivotal role in tracking infection dynamics and vaccine effectiveness. In this study, we aimed to develop a simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring RBD-specific antibodies, comparing two plant-based platforms for diagnostic reagent production. We chose to retain RBD in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to prevent potential immunoreactivity issues associated with plant-specific glycans. We produced ER-retained RBD in two plant systems: a stable transformation of BY-2 plant cell culture (BY2-RBD) and a transient transformation in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i>Frontiers in plant science1325162https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10794598biostudies-literaturePerformance of plant-produced RBDs as SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic reagents: a tale of two plant platforms.PMC10794598Pivotto DZanichelli EBardor MMazzariol AAvesani LRitala AGutierrez-Valdes NCompri MSantoni MRosa ASobrino-Mengual GLerouge PCecchetto RBalieu JfalsePerformance of plant-produced RBDs as SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic reagents: a tale of two plant platforms.The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for rapid and cost-effective diagnostic tools. Serological tests, particularly those measuring antibodies targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the virus, play a pivotal role in tracking infection dynamics and vaccine effectiveness. In this study, we aimed to develop a simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring RBD-specific antibodies, comparing two plant-based platforms for diagnostic reagent production. We chose to retain RBD in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to prevent potential immunoreactivity issues associated with plant-specific glycans. We produced ER-retained RBD in two plant systems: a stable transformation of BY-2 plant cell culture (BY2-RBD) and a transient transformation in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i>2023-01-01T00:00:00Z20232026-04-15T03:21:51.259Z2024-10-16T00:13:48.592ZS-EPMC107945983823920710.3389/fpls.2023.1325162