Comprehensive in Silico Prediction and Proteomic Analysis of B- and T-Cell Epitopes for the Capsid Protein of Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV)

El-Masry, Samar S.A.; Abdel Razek, Fatma S.; Ibrahim, Shafik D.; El-Dougdoug, Khalid A.; Sadik, Atef S.

doi:10.21608/eajbsg.2025.430201

Comprehensive in Silico Prediction and Proteomic Analysis of B- and T-Cell Epitopes for the Capsid Protein of Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Laboratory of Virology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, P.O. Box 68, Hadayek Shobra, Cairo, Egypt.

² Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, 9 Gamaa St., P.O. Box, 12619, Giza, Egypt.

10.21608/eajbsg.2025.430201

Abstract

The Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) poses a significant threat to global banana cultivation, underscoring the urgent need for effective preventive strategies. In this study, an immunoinformatics-driven approach was employed to design a multi-epitope chimeric vaccine targeting the BBTV capsid protein. Linear B-cell and T-cell epitopes were predicted using a combination of computational tools, including SVMTriP, ABCpred, BepiPred-2.0, NetMHCpan, and NetMHCIIpan. The most promising epitopes-three B-cell, two cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), and three T helper lymphocyte (THL) epitopes-were selected based on their antigenicity, non-allergenicity, and non-toxicity. These epitopes were assembled into a single construct using AAY, GPGPG, and KK linkers, and the PADRE adjuvant was added to enhance immunogenicity. The final chimeric vaccine sequence comprised 165 amino acids, with a high antigenicity score (0.7930) and favorable safety profile. Physicochemical analysis revealed desirable features including stability (instability index: 23.05), thermostability (aliphatic index: 76.86), and hydrophilicity (GRAVY score: -0.349). Secondary structure analysis predicted a balanced composition of alpha helices, beta sheets, and random coils, with over half of the residues exposed, suggesting strong immune accessibility. The 3D structure was modeled using AlphaFold 3 and refined through GalaxyRefine. The best model exhibited excellent validation parameters (RMSD: 0.615, GDT-HA: 0.8729, Ramachandran favored regions: 99.4%, ERRAT score: 96.2963, Z-score: -2.6), confirming structural reliability. Overall, these findings suggest that the designed multi-epitope vaccine is a promising candidate for subsequent in vitro and in vivo evaluation against BBTV.

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