Genetic Construction of Bacillus subtilis Recombinant Strain, Producing Anthrax Protective Antigen

Abstract

Anthrax is a serious infectious disease with high mortality. The epidemiological security depends on the vaccination of susceptible animals and population at risk. But many of the existing anthrax vaccine strains possess low levels of protective antigen production and high reactogenicity. One of the most promising trends in production of new generation of vaccines is the cloning of particular determinants of immunogenicity of anthrax microbe for the creation of highly effective producers of Bacillus anthracis protective antigen. The aim of the article is to present the results of the study on the construction of recombinant Bacillus subtilis strain, producing B.anthracis protective antigen, promising for use in chemical anthrax vaccines technology. The pHT43PA plasmid containing the gene pag, providing the synthesis of protective antigen of the anthrax microbe and functioning stably in the cells of the recombinant strain Amy21(pHT43РА) of B. subtilis, was constructed on the basis of the shuttle vector pHT43. It is found out during the research, that the microbial cells of the recombinant strain Amy21(pHT43РА) of B. subtilis provide the production of immunologically active protective antigen in quantities, not inferior than anthrax vaccine strains. These data, as well as safety and simplicity of В. subtilis make it possible to continue the research of this recombinant strain as a producer of anthrax protective antigen, promising for use in vaccines production