Methods for identification of bacterial vaccine candidates reviewed.

2003 DEC 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers review methods for the identification of bacterial vaccine candidates in a recent issue of the journal Methods.

"Pathogenic bacteria still represent a major threat to human health worldwide and the need for new vaccines is great. Virulence factors, particularly surface-located molecules, often make good vaccine targets because they are essential for access to their niche within the host. The advent of whole-genome sequencing of bacterial pathogens has revolutionized the methods by which these organisms are studied and provides us with the possibility of identifying potential targets for vaccines by sequence scanning alone," scientists in England report.

"Other developments in molecular biology, such as whole genome expression and mass mutagenesis, are also contributing to the identification of potential vaccine targets," said Elaine Allan at University College London and Brendan W. Wren at the London School ...