Nucleic acids and proteins from streptococcus groups A & B

1 . A protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276.

2 . A protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to the protein of claim 1 .

3 . A protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276.

4 . An antibody which binds to a protein selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276;

(b) a protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to (a); and

(c) a protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276.

5 . The antibody of claim 4 which is a monoclonal antibody, a chimeric antibody, a humanized antibody, or a fully human antibody.

6 . A nucleic acid molecule which encodes a protein selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276;

(b) a protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to (a); and

(c) a protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276, or the complement thereof.

7 . The nucleic acid molecule of claim 6 comprising the nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO:7275.

8 . A nucleic acid molecule comprising a fragment of 10 or more consecutive nucleotides from the nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO:7275 or the complement thereof.

9 . A nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having 50% or greater sequence identity to the nucleic acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7275 or the complement thereof.

10 . A nucleic acid molecule which can hybridize under stringent conditions to a nucleic acid molecule encoding a protein selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276;

(b) a protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to (a); and

(c) a protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276, or the complement thereof.

11 . A composition comprising an active agent selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276;

(b) a protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to (a);

(c) a protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 7276;

(d) an antibody which binds to (a), (b), or (c);

(e) a nucleic acid molecule which encodes (a), (b), or (c) or the complement thereof;

(f) a nucleic acid molecule comprising a fragment of 10 or more consecutive nucleotides from the nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO:7275 or the complement thereof;

(g) a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having 50% or greater sequence identity to (e) or (f); and

(h) a nucleic acid molecule which can hybridize to (e), (f), or (g) under high stringency conditions.

12 . The composition of claim 11 which is an immunogenic composition, a vaccine composition, or a diagnostic composition.

13 . A method of treatment, comprising administering to a patient in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of the composition of claim 11 .

14 . A hybrid protein represented by the formula NH 2 -A-[-X-L-] n -B-COOH, wherein X is the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276, L is an optional linker amino acid sequence, A is an optional N-terminal amino acid sequence, B is an optional C-terminal amino acid sequence, and n is an integer greater than 1.

15 . A kit comprising primers for amplifying a template sequence contained with a Streptococcus nucleic acid sequence, the kit comprising a first primer and a second primer, wherein the first primer is substantially complementary to the template sequence and the second primer is substantially complementary to a complement of the template sequence, wherein the parts of the primers which have substantial complementarity defme the termini of the template sequence to be amplified, wherein the template sequence comprises SEQ ID NO:7275.

16 . A kit comprising first and second single-stranded oligonucleotides which allow amplification of a Streptococcus template nucleic acid sequence contained in a single- or double-stranded nucleic acid (or mixture thereof), wherein: (a) the first oligonucleotide comprises a primer sequence which is substantially complementary to said template nucleic acid sequence; (b) the second oligonucleotide comprises a primer sequence which is substantially complementary to the complement of said template nucleic acid sequence; (c) the first oligonucleotide and/or the second oligonucleotide comprise(s) sequence which is not compementary to said template nucleic acid; and (d) said primer sequences define the termini of the template sequence to be amplified, wherein the template sequence comprises SEQ ID NO:7275.

17 . The kit of claim 16 , wherein the non-complementary sequence(s) of (c) comprise a restriction site and/or a promoter sequence.

18 . A computer-readable medium containing one or both of SEQ ID NOS: 7276 and 7275.

19 . A process for detecting Streptococcus in a biological sample, comprising the step of contacting under hybridizing conditions a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a nucleic acid molecule which encodes a protein selected from the group consisting of:

(1) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276;

(2) a protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to (1); and

(3) a protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276, or the complement thereof;

(b) a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO:7275;

(c) a nucleic acid molecule comprising a fragment of 10 or more consecutive nucleotides from the nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO:7275 or the complement thereof; and

(d) a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having 50% or greater sequence identity to the nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO:7275 or the complement thereof.

20 . The process of claim 19 , wherein the process involves nucleic acid amplification.

21 . A process for determining whether a compound binds to a protein selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276;

(b) a protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to (a); and

(c) a protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276, comprising contacting a test compound with the protein and determining whether the test compound binds to the protein.

22 . A composition comprising:

(a) a protein selected from the group consisting of:

(1) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276;

(2) a protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to (1); and

(3) a protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276; and

(b) one or more of the following antigens:

a protein antigen from Helicobacter pylori;

a protein antigen from N.meningitidis serogroup B;

an outer-membrane vesicle (OMV) preparation from N.meningitidis serogroup B;

a saccharide antigen from N.meningitidis serogroup A, C, W135 and/or Y;

a saccharide antigen from Streptococcus pneumoniae;

an antigen from hepatitis A virus;

an antigen from hepatitis B virus;

an antigen from hepatitis C virus;

an antigen from Bordetella pertussis;

a diphtheria antigen;

a tetanus antigen;

a saccharide antigen from Haemophilus influenzae B.

an antigen from N.gonorrhoeae;

an antigen from Chlamydia pneumoniae;

an antigen from Chlamydia trachomatis;

an antigen from Porphyromonas gingivalis;

polio antigen(s);

rabies antigen(s);

measles, mumps and/or rubella antigens;

influenza antigen(s);

an antigen from Moraxella catarrhalis ; and/or

an antigen from Staphylococcus aureus.

23 . A composition comprising two or more proteins, wherein each protein is a protein selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276;

(b) a protein having 50% or greater sequence identity to (a); and

(c) a protein comprising a fragment of 7 or more consecutive amino acids from the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:7276.