Location: Endemic Poultry Viral Diseases Research
Project Number: 6040-32000-083-025-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jan 1, 2025
End Date: Dec 31, 2027
Objective:
To develop novel multivalent vaccines for broad protection against avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) infection using avian herpesvirus vector platforms, turkey herpesvirus (HVT), and Marek’s disease virus (MDV) vaccines to protect poultry against important poultry viral diseases, Avian rhinotracheitis, and Marek's disease.
Approach:
We propose to develop MDV-based vector vaccines against aMPV that leverage the synergistic effect of HVT and MDV serotype 2 vaccines (301B/1) and enhanced immune responses by modified Fusion protein of aMPV expression in HVT and 301B/1 vector. Multivalent MD vaccine, a mixture of MDV serotypes 1, 2, and HVT, has been proven the enhance the protection against highly pathogenic MDV. MDV serotype 2 strain 301B/1 has been successfully cloned into a bacterial artificial chromosome and we will develop the 301B/1 strain as a vector platform to express glycoproteins (g) F, gG of aMPV subtype B. In addition, to provide broad protection, the same antigens, gF and gG of subtype A aMPV will be expressed in the HVT. The mixture of 301B/1-aMPV-B and HVT-aMPV-A vaccines will be tested for vaccine efficacy against virulent aMPV challenge.
