Abstract:The studies on lactic acid bacteria as live vehicles for expression and display of heterologous proteins or antigens have gained great progress in the past decades. Recently, a novel display system called Bacterium-like particles was designed and described. This system is based on nonliving and non-genetically modified gram-positive bacterial cells, generally the innocuous bacterium Lactococcus lactis pretreated by hot acids. The peptidoglycan-binding domain of lactococcal AcmA protein has been used as the protein anchor for heterologous surface display of various proteins on lactic acid bacteria. Compared to the living lactic acid bacteria, Bacterium-like particles have a higher binding capacity, safety, delivering efficiency, and less anticarrier response. They have been widely used in the development of mucosal vaccines and adjuvants, purification of viral antigens, and preparation of biocatalysts. In this review, we focus on the construction, unique advantages of Bacterium-like particles, and successful application in many fields. Finally, we will discuss the broad application prospects and problems to be solved in the nearly future.