Immunization of animals: from DNA to the dinner plate

Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in polynucleotide vaccination also referred to as DNA vaccines or genetic immunization for inducing long-term immunity in various animals and humans. The main attraction of this technology is the possibility to induce a broad range of immune responses without the use of conventional adjuvants. To date, most of the studies (>500 reports) have focused on DNA vaccination in mice. The present report summarizes the limited number of trials that have used target animal species to not only test the immune responses but also correlate them to protection.