Location: Poultry Production and Product Safety Research
Project Number: 6022-32420-001-027-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2024
End Date: Mar 31, 2027
Objective:
Clostridium perfringens (CP) and Mycoplasma galisepticum (MG) are poultry pathogens that cause huge economic loss to the poultry industry, so the goal of this project is to develop a suite of eBeam-killed vaccines against CP and MG to reduce necrotic enteritis (NE) and chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in chickens and human foodborne outbreaks due to CP. To obtain this goal, we have two major objectives: (1) To prepare a multi-strain Clostridium perfringens vaccine using eBeam technology and test its efficacy in protecting broiler chickens when challenged with live homologous and heterologous strains; (2) To prepare a multi-strain Mycoplasma galisepticum vaccine using eBeam technology and test its efficacy in protecting layer chickens when challenged with homologous and heterologous strains of MG.
Approach:
Strains of Clostridium perfringens (CP) and Strains of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) will be cultured and exposed to a lethal dose of electron beam for inactivation. The inactivated cells will be used as a vaccine. Fertile chicken eggs will be obtained from a commercial hatchery and incubated in our incubators. On the day of embryogenesis, the vaccine will be delivered to the embryos using the in-ovo method to simulate commercial hatcheries in-ovo vaccination practices. After the chicks are hatched on day 21, they will be kept in appropriate cages/pens according to the treatment. To test the efficacy of the vaccines, the chickens will be challenged with live pathogens (CP or MG), and different samples will be collected for microbial and immunological analysis. The results from all the analyses will be analyzed and prepared for presentations, manuscripts, or patent applications.
