%A Hu,Yun-Fei %A Zhao,Dun %A Yu,Xing-Long %A Hu,Yu-Li %A Li,Run-Cheng %A Ge,Meng %A Xu,Tian-Qi %A Liu,Xiao-Bo %A Liao,Hua-Yuan %D 2017 %J Frontiers in Microbiology %C %F %G English %K phage display,mimotope,Homology analysis,Subcellular localization,surface protein,Erysipelothrix rhusiopthiae %Q %R 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00082 %W %L %M %P %7 %8 2017-January-26 %9 Original Research %+ Xing-Long Yu,College of Veterinary Medicine, Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University,Changsha, China,xlyu999@126.com %# %! Approach for bacterial surface antigen identification %* %< %T Identification of Bacterial Surface Antigens by Screening Peptide Phage Libraries Using Whole Bacteria Cell-Purified Antisera %U https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00082 %V 8 %0 JOURNAL ARTICLE %@ 1664-302X %X Bacterial surface proteins can be good vaccine candidates. In the present study, we used polyclonal antibodies purified with intact Erysipelothrix rhusiopthiae to screen phage-displayed random dodecapeptide and loop-constrained heptapeptide libraries, which led to the identification of mimotopes. Homology search of the mimotope sequences against E. rhusiopthiae-encoded ORF sequences revealed 14 new antigens that may localize on the surface of E. rhusiopthiae. When these putative surface proteins were used to immunize mice, 9/11 antigens induced protective immunity. Thus, we have demonstrated that a combination of using the whole bacterial cells to purify antibodies and using the phage-displayed peptide libraries to determine the antigen specificities of the antibodies can lead to the discovery of novel bacterial surface antigens. This can be a general approach for identifying surface antigens for other bacterial species.