A plasmid for use in transferring a chicken anemia virus apoptin coding sequence into a plant includes a binary vector suitable for transferring DNA from Agrobacterium tumefaciens to a selected plant, upstream and downstream homologous regions for targeting transfer of the DNA to a specified location in the selected plant genome, a chicken anemia virus apoptin coding sequence operationally configured adjacent to selected plant promoter and terminator segments, and an antibiotic marker coding sequence operationally configured adjacent to selected plant promoter and terminator segments. Transfer of DNA into a plant, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, results in a plant that expresses apoptin. Cancer treatment can include ingesting plant parts containing expressed apoptin. Apoptin for use as a medicine or vaccine can be obtained from the modified plant.
