Location: Endemic Poultry Viral Diseases Research
2022 Annual Report
Objectives
1. Use a systems biology approach to elucidate host-pathogen interactions associated with infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) strain variation, immunosuppression, and pathogenesis.
2. Develop effective genomics and immune intervention strategies to prevent and control IBDV, including emerging very virulent and variant IBDV strains.
Approach
These two objectives include a combination of basic and applied research that will generate knowledge and help develop tools to improve our ability to prevent and control infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) whose presence fosters high level antibiotic use in poultry production to control secondary bacterial infections. These research goals are highly interrelated and will be accomplished with similar tools and approaches. Thus, experiments will often contribute to more than one objective and use an experimental and systems biology approach. The first objective includes the characterization of new variant and very virulent strains of IBDV which constantly emerge in nature as well as the elucidation specific viral and host factors that contribute to host adaptation, immunosuppression, transmission and virulence. The second objective complements the first with a more in depth focus on how the virus changes under immune pressure, the development of improved vaccines, and understanding genetics of host restriction and resistance to infection and disease.
Progress Report
This project was merged with project 6040-32000-084-000D "Systems Biology Approaches to Develop Medical Countermeasures to Detect, Prevent, and Control Poultry Production Viral Disease" refer to this project for additional information.
We have hired a Veterinary Immunology Pathways Student, Biological Science Laboratory Technician, and a new Category 1 Research Veterinary Medical Officer. We are currently recruiting two Postdoctoral researchers. To establish if genetic resistance to infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) exists in chickens, ARS researchers, in Athens, Georgia, evaluated the susceptibility of ten inbred chicken lines to three strains of IBDV. The results showed differences in susceptibility to the classical IBDV strain STC and the very virulent IBDV strain rA, while no differences in susceptibility were observed upon challenge with the variant IBDV strain AL-2. The overall data suggest that genetic resistance to IBDV does exist depending upon the challenge strain of the virus and that further research into the mechanisms of the observed resistance may benefit future IBDV control strategies.
Accomplishments
