Identification of potential antigenic peptides of Bm86, Ra85A and Ra92A tick proteins using insilico tools and immune dot blot assay

Abstract

Ticks are the leading causes of losses the livestock sector in sub-Saharan Africa through the spread of tick-borne infections. They are mostly controlled by chemical acaricides. The use of anti-tick vaccine to control ticks is a new approach. Scientists are evaluating effects of anti-tick vaccine Gavac® on different tick species while others are discovering new anti-tick antigens. However not as much efforts have been invested in developing of assays to detect antibodies against the anti-tick antigens. Therefore monitoring and evaluating of efficacy of anti-tick antigens is lagging behind. This study identified 11 peptides conserved across anti-tick antigens Bm86, Ra85A and Ra92A which have antigenic potential. Both insilico tools and immune dot blot assay were used to evaluate peptide antigenicity. Two peptides M4 and M7 were identified to be most antigenic and therefore suitable for integration in studies aimed at developing assays such as peptide ELISA to detect antibodies against Bm86, Ra85A and Ra92A proteins.