ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Biotechnology
Protein nanoparticle-based vaccine candidate produced in Nicotiana benthamiana against Non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica in poultry
Shabnam Shamriz 1,2
Philip H.W. Mak 3,4
Carly Alyssa Charron 2,1
Xianhua Yin 3
Christopher Garnham 5,1
Elijah G. Kiarie 6
Moussa Sory Diarra 3
Rima Menassa 1,2
1. London Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), London, Canada
2. Biology Department, Western University, London, Canada
3. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Guelph Research and Development Centre, Guelph, Canada
4. Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
5. Biochemistry Department, Western University, London, Canada
6. University of Guelph Department of Animal Biosciences, Guelph, Canada
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Abstract
Non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica serovars are enteric pathogens in humans that can be acquired from poultry products. Salmonella colonisation in poultry is an important cause of economic losses. Due to challenges in controlling Salmonella in poultry and the emergence of well-adapted, antibiotic-resistant serovars, there is a need for innovative control strategies, such as vaccines. In this work, plants were used to produce conserved antigenic epitopes of Salmonella FepA, an outer membrane protein involved in iron uptake, genetically fused in tandem to self-assembling lumazine synthase from Brucella spp. (BLS). The recombinant proteins were purified, characterized, and their immunogenicity was assessed in chickens. Results indicated that the recombinant proteins assemble into decameric particles. These proteins elicit antigen-specific antibodies in chickens that bind Protected B / Protégé B to the Salmonella's cell surface. These results demonstrate that the candidate vaccine has the potential to control Salmonella colonization in poultry, helping prevent food chain contamination.
Summary
Keywords
Brucella sp. Lumazine synthase, fusion subunit vaccine, Plant-produced nanoparticle-based vaccine, Poultry, Salmonella enterica serovars
Received
04 December 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Shamriz, Mak, Charron, Yin, Garnham, Kiarie, Diarra and Menassa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Christopher Garnham; Rima Menassa
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.