2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Molecular Cloning and Bioinformatic Analysis of Staphylococcus aureus Surface Antigens for Chimera Vaccine Development

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Juliette Tinker

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a primary cause of bovine mastitis, which has significant agricultural and economic implications, affecting the health of cattle and dairy production globally. As antibiotic resistance increases, providing a preventive vaccine is essential to alleviate the economic burden and improve herd health. The goal of our research is to identify and clone immunogenic S. aureus genes that can serve as components of a future cholera toxin chimera subunit vaccine targeting S. aureus infections. The target genes, which encode potential surface antigens, were amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and directionally ligated into a high-expression vector that will create a genetic fusion with the non-toxic cholera toxin B subunit (CTB). The resulting plasmids were transformed into E. coli K12 for expression. Confirmation of successful E. coli transformation was performed using colony PCR and gel electrophoresis, verifying that the E. coli successfully took up the recombinant DNA. Bioinformatic analysis of the antigens was performed to determine the structure, function, and interactions of the target proteins. Our results confirm the successful cloning of the target genes into the plasmids. These results provide the foundation for the next steps of the project, which aim to analyze the success of protein expression from the plasmid and evaluate the production of complexes formed between the antigen and CTB. Successful creation of these complexes would indicate that the antigen is a viable candidate for the development of a future vaccine against bovine mastitis.

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