Development of an auxotrophic, live-attenuated Brucella suis vaccine strain capable of expressing multimeric GnRH

Abstract

Feral swine cost around $1.5 billion each year in agricultural, environmental, and personal property damages. They are also the most widespread carriers of the zoonotic disease brucellosis, which threatens both livestock bio-security and public health. Currently, there is no approved vaccine against brucellosis in pigs. This is a preliminary report on the development of a live-attenuated B. suis vaccine that could be employed to deliver heterologous antigens to control swine populations. An attenuated vaccine strain provided significant protection against B. suis challenge in mice. Leucine auxotrophy in the vaccine strain allowed the over-expression of heterologous antigens without the use of antibiotic resistant markers. Vaccinated mice showed the development of antibodies against expressed antigen. Further evaluation is required to assess its ability to cause infertility using the mouse model prior to further testing for use as a tool for feral swine population and disease control.