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Cyanobacterial Extracellular Vesicles as Protein Carriers: Towards Fish Vaccination
Jorge Matinha-Cardoso1,2,3,4, Gabriela Gonçalves4,5, Filipe Coutinho4
1i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Microbial Biotechnology
|January 2, 2026
Summary
Engineered cyanobacteria produced stable extracellular vesicles (EVs) that act as a novel vaccine platform for fish aquaculture. These resilient nanostructures effectively induce specific immune responses, offering a sustainable solution for fish disease control.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Aquaculture
- Immunology
Background:
- Fish aquaculture suffers economic losses due to diseases.
- Bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs) are promising vaccine platforms but have toxicity and production issues.
- Genetic engineering of non-pathogenic microbes offers an alternative for producing tailored EVs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the stability of engineered cyanobacterial EVs.
- To assess the immunogenicity of these EVs in European seabass.
- To explore their potential as a sustainable fish vaccine platform.
Main Methods:
- Engineered Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to produce EVs carrying sfGFP.
- Tested EV stability under various storage conditions (temperature, freeze-drying).
- Immunized European seabass with Synechocystis EVs and measured immunoglobulin production.
Main Results:
- Synechocystis EVs demonstrated long-term stability under different storage conditions.
- EVs induced specific immune responses (sfGFP-specific immunoglobulins) in fish.
- EVs exhibited adjuvant properties, enhancing immune response.
Conclusions:
- Engineered cyanobacterial EVs are resilient nanostructures suitable for vaccine development.
- These EVs can elicit specific adaptive immune responses in fish.
- This represents a breakthrough for sustainable fish disease control using novel antigen-carrier platforms.
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