Design of Mycoplasma vaccines employing
synthetic biology tools
Elise Schieck, Paul Ssajjakambwe, Cecilia Muriuki, Joerg Jores
ILRI BioSciences Day, Nairobi, 27 November 2013
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Design of Mycoplasma vaccines employing
synthetic biology tools
• Introduction
• Why is this research important for ILRI
-a vaccine against one of the most important livestock diseases
in Africa is important to ILRI
-This research is putting ILRI on the map of institutes with
world-class cutting edge bioscience
• Who are the recipients of the outcomes
-Stakeholders in the livestock sector: smallholder
farmers, pastoralists, animal health workers, milk-drinkers and
beef-eaters in the countries affected
• How will it change their lives
-farmers will generate more profit, nutrition will improve

The problem: its significance
• What is the state of the problem?
-CBPP is widespread in Africa, and the affected region is still
expanding.
• How will this project change the outcomes?
-An effective vaccine will be included in control measures
against the disease, including possible eradication
• What are the links to ILRI’s strategy (SLOs and Strategic
Outcomes)?:
-Reduce rural poverty, Improve food security, Improve
nutrition and health, Sustainably manage natural resources

Scientific approach
• Genome transplantation
• Allows seamless deletions
• GMO vaccine possible
• Kill-switch or temperature
sensitive
• Allows identification of
virulence genes, a step to
rational subunit vaccine design

Scientific approach
• Targeting polysaccharide capsule
Cell membrane
• Capsule hides the bacteria
from the immune system
• Sugars are very inefficient
immunogens
• Immunity to CBPP is very shortlived
Nuclear material
Capsule
We are deleting genes involved in capsule biosynthesis

Results-1
• Deleting genes involved in
capsule biosynthesis
• 3 genes deleted:
glycosyltransferase
glf
bgl
Mmc GM12
genome
1,089,202bp

Results-2
• Backtransplantation of altered genomes
• Mycoplasma mutants:
• glf deletion mutant
glf mutants
wildtype

Conclusions and discussion points
• We have introduced genome transplantation to ILRI
and Africa
• Will substantially accelerate CBPP research towards a
better vaccine
• First mutants have been made
• Next step:
• Do these mutations have an effect on virulence? If so
a glycoconjugated vaccine is a promising and novel
approach to control Mycoplasma related diseases

Where to from now?
• How will it contribute to the four CGIAR System Level
Outcomes (Reduce poverty, improve
nutrition, improve food security and Sustainably
manage natural resources) and link with CRP/value
chains?
CRPs: 4.3 and 3.7
Value chains: dairy and beef, small ruminants
• Our Partners:
JCVI, INRA, FLI, Alberta Glycomics Centre, UoB, TiHo

General discussion
• Funding:
-Approved BMZ grant on development of CBPP vaccines
and diagnostics (German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development)
-BMZ Postdoc (myself)
-NSF (US National Science Foundation)
• Resource mobilization
• What support do you expect from ILRI and the
BioScience Directorate?

better lives through livestock
ilri.org
The presentation has a Creative Commons licence. You are free to re-use or distribute this work, provided credit is given to ILRI.