Linear antigenic mapping of flagellin (FliC) from Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis with yeast surface expression system

• We constructed a yeast library expressing random peptides of FliC from S. Enteritidis.
• We identified three antigenic domains on the FliC protein from S. Enteritidis
• We found the antigenic domains to be able to prevent invasion of S. Enteritidis.

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) is a major cause of food-borne illness around the world and can have significant health implications in humans, poultry and other animals. Flagellin (FliC) is the primary component of bacterial flagella. It has been shown that the FliC of S. Enteritidis is a significant antigenic structure and can elicit strong humoral responses against S. Enteritidis infection in chickens. Here, we constructed a FliC antigen library using a yeast surface expression system. Yeast cells expressing FliC peptide antigens were labeled with chicken sera against S. Enteritidis and sorted using FACS. The analyses of FliC peptides revealed that the FliC linear antigenicity in chickens resided on three domains which were able to elicit strong humoral responses in vivo. Animal experiments further revealed that the antibodies elicited by these antigenic domains were able to significantly inhibit the invasion of S. Enteritidis into the liver and spleen of chickens. These findings will facilitate our better understanding of the humoral responses elicited by FliC in chickens upon infection by S. Enteritidis.