Computational characterization and epitope prediction for Bet-v1 like protein of Cannabis sativa

Cannabis sativa encodes a Bet-v1 like protein is an allergen and a causuative agent of pollen allergy. Multiple sequence alignment of this protein revealed conserved residues in Betv1 domain. Identification of linear epitopes of this protein was done after preliminary bioinformatics characterization and structure prediction. Structure prediction was done using Modeller software and minimized using Swiss PDBViewer. Six linear epitopes were then, predicted using EMBOSS antigenic program. Phylogenetic analysis of Bet-v1 with other sequences demonstrated divergence patterns with allergens of other species but revealed conserved residues in allergenic epitopes. This study can serve as an informational aid in the development of hypoallergenic vaccine for Cannabis sativa allergy.