Table 1.

Comparison between Traditional and Reverse Vaccinology

	Traditional Vaccinology	Reverse Vaccinology
Antigens available	10-25 identified by biochemical or genetic tools.	Virtually all antigens encoded by the genome are available.
Property of antigens	The most abundant antigens, the most immunogenic during disease, only from cultivable microorganisms.	All antigens are available, even if not highly immunogenic during disease. Antigens from noncultivable microorganisms can be identified.
Immunology of the antigens	Highly immunogenic antigens, often variable in sequence, because of immune selective pressure. Some may contain domains mimicking self-antigens and may induce autoimmunity.	The most conserved protective antigens can be identified. Usually these are not the most immunogenic during infection. The novel antigens are screened against the human genome, and antigens with homology to self-antigens are removed upfront
Polysaccharide antigens	A major target of traditional bacterial vaccines.	Cannot be identified by reverse vaccinology; however, operons coding for the biosynthesis of polysaccharides can be identified. This can lead to discovery of novel carbohydrate antigens.
T cell epitopes	Known epitopes limited to the known antigens.	Virtually every single T cell epitope is available. Screening of the total T cell immunity can be done by overlapping peptides.