In-silico identification of potential antigenic proteins in Bartonella bacilliformis for the serological diagnosis of Carrions’ disease

Abstract

The current methods for inferring antigenic, pathogenic or virulence factors in bacteria include in-silico or computational tools. Bartonella bacilliformis, the causal agent of Carrion's disease (CD) is a Gram-negative microorganism transmitted by the sand fly Lutzomya verrucarum mainly in Peruvian Inter-Andean valleys. A better understanding of the pathogenicity of B. bacilliformis, the implementation of serological diagnostic methods and the development of candidate vaccines for the control of CD could be facilitated by the identification of outer membrane exposed proteins such as outer-membrane beta-barrels (OMBB) and outer-membrane lipoproteins (OMLPP). In this study we present the in-silico identification of OMBBs and OMLPPs in B. bacilliformis. The present analysis identified 32 OMBBs and 9 OMLPPs, of which 15 and 4 are reported for the first time as potential antigenic, pathogenic and virulence-related proteins, respectively. Future implications of this study are discussed and compared with proteins validated by experimental assays.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in ialB, gltA and rpoB genes of Bartonella bacilliformis isolated from patients in endemic Peruvian regions

“…This statement is supported by Paul et al who described potential sub-speciation in isolates related to Ver097, such as, for instance, LA6.3, and Luc-Uba, all three of which were isolated from Ancash [34]. As mentioned, our findings show amino acid mutations that could affects protein functions, so we consider these non-synonymous mutations must be carefully analyzed to avoid inaccuracy during an in-silico analysis [35].…”

Development of computationally-guided workflow for designing therapeutic phage cocktail: targeting multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria

“…The analysis revealed that one prophage of Klebsiella pneumoniae harbored Peptidoglycan DD-metalloendopeptidase family protein and undecaprenyl-phosphate glucose phosphotransferase, which are known virulence factors [42]. Additionally, the prophage of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found to contain Phenazine biosynthesis protein PhzF, which is an isomerase involved in phenazine biosynthesis and has been linked to virulence in P. aeruginosa [43]. Therefore, those prophages which are detected to producing virulent genes are rejected.…”