Development of a novel oral vaccine platform using spores of probiotic, Clostridium butyricum, for heterologous antigen display

The original project was focused on exploiting Escherichia coli as a chassis strain for the expression and purification of protective antigens from Clostridium difficile for coating onto a liposomal-based mucosal vaccine platform. This project focuses on genetically engineering the probiotic, Clostridium butyricum, to express C. difficile antigens on the spore coat. The recombinant C. butyricum spore will act as a live vaccine targeting the intestinal mucosa following oral administration.