Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** bovine tuberculosis (BTB) caused…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** bovine tuberculosis (BTB) caused bymycobacterium tuberculosisvariantbovis(MBO) is one of the most damaging diseases in agriculture worldwide. The rise in BTB infected deer and cattle herds in michigan has led to a state of urgency due to associated animal trade and movement restrictions. Controlling the disease in animals is a primary approach to preventing/mitigating spread of MBO into and from wildlife or human populations. This study proposes a novel vaccine design around a central paradigm of microbial pathogenesis that posits that immune responses against virulence factors OFM. Bovisare sufficient and effective to protect animals against MBO infection. These highly conserved immunogenic peptides/proteins fromm. Tuberculosiscomplex will be genetically engineered into the ubiquitous soil bacterium (and a probiotic)bacillus subtilis to be expressed and displayed on its spores. Recombinant spores are heat- stable easily stored and easily administered mucosal (oral or intranasal) vaccine. Recombinant spores will be tested in this study for their ability to elicit anti-MBO cellular and humoral immune responses and in-vivo tested for bacterial killing using in an oral vaccination-challenge study design.