ReVarcine: novel transformer-based models for signal peptide,
subcellular location, alpha helix and beta-barrel prediction in bacteria
genomes
Abstract
Reverse vaccinology approach is an in silico methodology in order
to identify antigens that are good vaccine candidates in a simple,
safety and inexpensive way, with reduced time and effort. This strategy
is based on bioinformatics tools, which predict important protein
structural features, such as: integral transmembrane β-barrel
arrangements; transmembrane alpha-helices; signal peptides; and secreted
proteins. In this context, specific tools have been developed for the
prediction of critical structural features, however despite significant
progress, challenges persist due to the lack of integration in existing
methods and the limited robustness and generalization of deep learning
models with sparse data. To address these gaps, we introduce ReVarcine,
a transformer-based deep neural network designed to automate the
identification of signal peptides, subcellular localization, β-barrels,
and alpha helices in bacteria, while prioritizing vaccine targets,
advancing immunoinformatics and next-generation vaccine development.
ReVarcine integrates predictions of signal peptides, subcellular
localization, and structural features into a single automated workflow,
generating detailed reports and prioritizing vaccine targets. Benchmarks
against SignalP, PSORT, and PSIPRED demonstrate its superior predictive
capabilities across diverse proteomes. By addressing key limitations in
immunoinformatics, ReVarcine sets a new standard for computational tools
in immunology and vaccinology, with potential for significant
contributions through ongoing refinement and experimental validation.