Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from Streptococcus iniae shows potential as a subunit vaccine against various streptococcal species

The potential of Streptococcus iniae glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) as an antigen for a subunit vaccine was investigated using a zebrafish model. The recombinant S. iniae GAPDH was purified using His-tag column chromatography, and antisera against the recombinant GAPDH (rGAPDH) were produced by intraperitoneal immunization of rats. By immunization with S. iniae rGAPDH, the survival rates of zebrafish against an S. iniae challenge increased, suggesting that GAPDH would be an antigen capable of inducing protective immune responses in fish. Furthermore, we demonstrated using Western blotting, that the antisera against rGAPDH of S. iniae had cross-reactivity with GAPDH from Streptococcus parauberis and Lactococcus garviae, which are also culprits of streptococcosis in cultured fish in Korea. These results suggest that S. iniae GAPDH may be used as an antigen for the development of a subunit vaccine against streptococcosis caused by diverse cocci in cultured fish.