Novel non-reverting shigella live vaccines

Abstract

Live vaccines are provided and methods for preparing the live vaccines for protection of a host from a pathogenic microorganism. The vaccines are prepared by introducing at least one modification in a gene involved in at least one, normally at least two, biosynthetic pathways involving the production of products which are unlikely to be found in the disease susceptible host. The modification results in a gene change which cannot be repaired by a single step, e.g. polynucleotide deletions and inversions. Where the aro gene suffers such a change, the resultant auxotrophic mutants require aromatic amino acids, p-aminobenzoic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid or a highly concentrated source of absorbable iron. The auxotrophic mutations have substantially reduced or nonexistent virulence while retaining the desired immunogenicity to initiate the immunogenic response. Various techniques can be employed for providing the desired change.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.