Abstract: The invention relates to recombinant vaccines capable of presenting all, or antigenic portions of, the Eimeria tenella 3-1e, or profilin. Also provided are methodologies of using the vaccines for oral administration to poultry and other targets in the control of coccidiosis. In particular embodiments, recombinant host cells, such as E. coli, expressing all or part of the 3-1e antigen, are provided that can be used as whole-cell vaccines. In some instances, the native 3-1e protein utilized in the vaccines presented herein is molecularly manipulated.