Isolated proteins, designated SdrF, SdrG and SdrH, and their correspondingamino acid and nucleic acid sequences are provided which are useful in theprevention and treatment of infection caused by coagulase-negativestaphylococcal bacteria such as S. epidermidis. The SdrF, SdrG and SdrHproteins are cell-wall associated proteins that specifically bind hostproteins and which each have a highly conserved motif of which the consensussequence is TYTFTDYVD. The proteins, antigenic portions thereof and anti-SdrF,SdrG and SdrH antibodies are also useful for the identification and diagnosisof coagulase-negative staphylococcal infections. In particular, the proteinsare advantageous because they may be used as vaccine components or antibodiesthereof, and they may be administered to wounds or used to coat biomaterialsto act as blocking agents to prevent or inhibit the binding of coagulase-negative staphylococci to wounds or biomaterials.
