Application of genomics in bacterial vaccine discovery: a decade in review

The combined power of genomics and proteomics has led to many advances in the discovery of bacterial vaccine targets. The ‘Holy Grail’ for a vaccine is to be pathogen specific yet conserved among all strains, so that universal coverage is possible with the minimal number of antigens. Genomics allows us to target conserved proteins, while proteomics tells us what is actually expressed and what is accessible to antibodies. Achievements using these latest approaches are exemplified by the vaccine clinical trials that are ongoing for protein targets against Neiserria meningitidis and Staphylococcus aureus along with promising discoveries that have been made for other pathogens including Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes. These developments are discussed in this review.