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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #379237
Research Project: Characterization of Antigens, Virulence Markers, and Host Immunity in the Pathogenesis of Johne’s Disease

Location: Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research

Title: Use of a ferret model to test efficacy and immunogenicity of live attenuated Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis vaccines

Author
item Bannantine, John
item GUPTA, TUHINA - University Of Georgia
item ZINNIEL, DENISE - University Of Nebraska
item HIKAL, AHMED - University Of Georgia
item QUINN, FREDERICK - University Of Georgia
item BARLETTA, RAUL - University Of Nebraska

Submitted to: Methods in Molecular Biology
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/15/2021
Publication Date: 11/24/2021
Citation: Bannantine, J.P., Gupta, T., Zinniel, D.K., Hikal, A., Quinn, F.D., Barletta, R.G. 2021. Use of a ferret model to test efficacy and immunogenicity of live attenuated Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis vaccines. Methods in Molecular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1888-2_5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1888-2_5

Interpretive Summary: Johne's disease or paratuberculosis is a chronic intestinal inflammation seen in ruminant livestock infected with the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). Animal models for paratuberculosis are important for testing vaccine candidates and have been developed in rodents and ruminants; however, no studies were conducted on ferrets. Many studies with existing models used oral inoculation to simulate bacterial uptake via the fecal-oral route, which is the natural mode of infection in cattle. In this study, we tested the ferret as a model for infection with MAP. We provide the details for how this was accomplished and what investigaotrs can expect when using this model. The results of the vaccine efficacy study have been withheld for a future manuscript. This communication is of primary interest to researchers and vaccinologists looking for a new animal model to test their vaccines.

Technical Abstract: Native hosts for the bacterial agent that causes Johne’s disease are ruminants, which include cattle, sheep and goats among others. These large animals are often too costly to be used in testing experimental vaccines. In this chapter, we provide detailed methods to use an inexpensive and more manageable animal host, the ferret, to test efficacy and immunogenicity of live attenuated Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) mutant strains prior to consideration as vaccine candidates.