In‐Silico Characterisation of <i>Burkholderia pseudomallei</i> <scp>K96243</scp> Pathogenic Islands: Unveiling Novel Targets for Therapeutic Development

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a deadly bacterium responsible for melioidosis, which is challenging to treat because of its antibiotic resistance and ability to evade the immune response. This study is focused on in silico analysis to identify novel drug targets. The B. pseudomallei K96243 strain, we have identified seven pathogenicity islands with 138 genes. Subsequent filtering based on criteria such as the data present, essentiality, lack of human homology, and uniqueness narrowed this to 24 promising targets, with eight top candidates. These include proteins involved in energy production (ctaB, BPSL1454, BPSS0086, petB, BPSL1260 and BPSL1259), immune evasion (BPSL1655 and BPSS1780), and the porin efflux pump. Computational interaction analysis revealed a connection between these targets and human immune and respiratory pathways. Prominently, all eight potential drug target candidates showed no homology to human proteins, highlighting their promising role in drug development against melioidosis. This work provides an important framework for identifying novel therapeutics and vaccines against B. pseudomallei.