Reverse vaccinology

[2][full citation needed] The basic idea behind reverse vaccinology is that an entire pathogenic genome can be screened using bioinformatics approaches to find genes.

[3] Those genes are filtered for desirable attributes that would make good vaccine targets such as outer membrane proteins.

[citation needed] In 2000, Rino Rappuoli and the J. Craig Venter Institute developed the first vaccine using Reverse Vaccinology against Serogroup B meningococcus.

Meningococcus B caused over 50% of meningococcal meningitis, and scientists had been unable to create a successful vaccine for the pathogen because of the bacterium's unique structure.

The addition of this adjuvant (previously identified by using conventional vaccinology approaches) enhanced immune response to the level that was required.

[citation needed] Though using bioinformatic technology to develop vaccines has become typical in the past ten years, general laboratories often do not have the advanced software that can do this.

Though it must be downloaded and does not include all epitope predictions, it does help save some time by combining the computational steps of reverse vaccinology into one program.

[7] Though Vaxign has been found to be extremely accurate and efficient, some scientists still utilize the online software RANKPEP for the peptide bonding predictions.