REPRODIVAC - Next-generation vaccines and diagnostics to prevent livestock reproductive diseases of worldwide impact
Objectives
Main objectives of the project are:
1
To genetically engineer a rationally attenuated Brucella suis vaccine and develop improved differential diagnostic tests to aid porcine brucellosis surveillance programs
2
To develop novel viral vectored vaccines designed to elicit antibodies that broadly neutralise Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) and an immunoassay to better measure PRRSV neutralising antibodies.
3
To produce recombinant proteins to facilitate the identification and prioritisation of DIVA vaccine candidate antigens for Q fever and Ovine Enzootic Abortion (OEA), and companion diagnostic tests.
4
To refine the manufacture of a recently developed Chlamydia abortus subcellular chlamydial outer membrane complex (COMC) vaccine and its evaluation for commercialisation, and to produce a companion molecular diagnostic test.
These objectives will be reach by exploiting recombinant systems and apply the following cutting-edge approaches:
- Reverse and structural vaccinology (‘reverse vaccinology 2.0’) to select and design both vaccine and diagnostic candidate antigens.
- Relevant protein expression systems for the production of vaccine and diagnostic candidate antigens.
- Mutagenesis and recombineering to produce rationally attenuated and viral vectored vaccines.
- Molecular and serological diagnostic approaches for DIVA and set-up of PoC tests.
