Sathish Kota, Mohana Subramanian, Bala Murugan Shanmugaraj, Harini Challa, Ponanna NM, Srinivasan VA and Rajan Sriraman
Avian coccidiosis is an intestinal tract infection caused by protozoan parasite of the genus Eimeria which is an economically important disease affecting poultry globally. In this study, E. maxima gametocyte antigen (Gam82) was expressed in tobacco leaves by agro-infiltration. The expression of Gam82 protein in plants was found to be 20 mg/kg fresh weight. The recombinant protein was purified by affinity column chromatography and its immunogenicity was evaluated in chickens. The birds immunized with plant purified plant expressed Gam82 protein showed 39% of increased weight gain and 69% of reduced oocyst output compared to control birds indicating that the plant expressed Gam82 antigen can elicit protective immune response in immunized birds. Our study demonstrated that the plant expressed Gam82 antigen can potentially be a candidate subunit vaccine against coccidiosis.