Developing a COVID-19 Yeast Oral Vaccine for Low Income Countries
Subject Area
Biology
Description
Christopher Bresnahan ’23, Majors: Biology and Theology
Noah Kozub ’22, Major: Biology
Taylor Brysgel ’22, Major: Biology
Faculty Mentor: Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, Biology
Despite the scientific ingenuity of their design, traditional SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines are expensive and require ultracold freezers for storage that are not available in many parts of the world. This makes them inaccessible to third world countries, and no shelf stable, low-cost alternative currently exists. In response, we have constructed a novel COVID-19 vaccine delivery system using the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii. We engineered a plasmid to express the receptor binding domain of the SARS CoV-2 spike protein. The yeast mating type pheromone secretion signal was fused to the N-terminus of the immunogen and the Claudin-4 targeting sequence of the Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin was fused to the C-terminus. Yeast cells secreting this construct are currently being tested in an animal model to determine if they can elicit an immune response.
Publisher
Providence College
Date
4-28-2022
Type
Poster
Language
English
