Reducing the health & economic burden of Campylobacter using a live vaccine. The aim of the project is to develop a vaccine to reduce Campylobacter bacteria in chickens. Campylobacters cause disease in both poultry and humans. Poultry products are the most common source of human infections. By reducing Campylobacter in poultry, the transfer to humans will be reduced. The expected outcomes arising from this work will be a reduction of the economic burden of poultry losses, in an Australian indust ....Reducing the health & economic burden of Campylobacter using a live vaccine. The aim of the project is to develop a vaccine to reduce Campylobacter bacteria in chickens. Campylobacters cause disease in both poultry and humans. Poultry products are the most common source of human infections. By reducing Campylobacter in poultry, the transfer to humans will be reduced. The expected outcomes arising from this work will be a reduction of the economic burden of poultry losses, in an Australian industry valued at $2.8 billion/year, and an improvement in food safety, thus helping to reduce the burden of foodborne illness, estimated to be $1.2 billion dollars/year. This project is, therefore, poised to benefit the Australian economy, specifically primary producers and the general public, by targeted vaccination of poultry.Read moreRead less
Development of a live vaccine for gut health in poultry. Development of a live vaccine for gut health in poultry. The project aims to develop a live vaccine against necrotic enteritis, a disease of poultry estimated to cost the global poultry industry $5-6 billion USD/annum. It builds on work that has demonstrated the efficacy of an experimental vaccine. The proven antigen, NetB, will be expressed in live delivery vehicles, including the apicomplexan parasite Eimeria and several bacteria strains ....Development of a live vaccine for gut health in poultry. Development of a live vaccine for gut health in poultry. The project aims to develop a live vaccine against necrotic enteritis, a disease of poultry estimated to cost the global poultry industry $5-6 billion USD/annum. It builds on work that has demonstrated the efficacy of an experimental vaccine. The proven antigen, NetB, will be expressed in live delivery vehicles, including the apicomplexan parasite Eimeria and several bacteria strains particularly suited to use in chickens. Comparative analysis of the different vaccine vehicles will allow evaluation of the relative advantages and disadvantage of the different vehicles for delivery of heterologous vaccine antigens, thus informing the choice of appropriate vectors for this and other vaccine applications.Read moreRead less
Genomic sequencing and comparative genomic analysis for animal bacterial vaccine discovery. The aim of this project is to develop vaccines for the control of swine dysentery (pigs) and intestinal spirochaetosis (pigs and chickens). These infections cause important production-limiting diseases for which no effective vaccines are available. We will use whole genomic sequencing of the two causal species of intestinal spirochaetal bacteria, with a bioinformatics-based analysis of the data to identif ....Genomic sequencing and comparative genomic analysis for animal bacterial vaccine discovery. The aim of this project is to develop vaccines for the control of swine dysentery (pigs) and intestinal spirochaetosis (pigs and chickens). These infections cause important production-limiting diseases for which no effective vaccines are available. We will use whole genomic sequencing of the two causal species of intestinal spirochaetal bacteria, with a bioinformatics-based analysis of the data to identify potential cell surface structures that will be tested as the basis of new recombinant vaccines. Outcomes will include the development of new commercial products, increased institutional capacity in veterinary vaccine discovery, and ultimately improved animal health and production in rural Australia.Read moreRead less
Manipulation of the growth potential and carcass composition of domestic animal species. Finding alternatives to repeated growth hormone(GH) injection to boost production efficiency and minimise carcass fatness remains an important target for animal research. This application exploits the two novel approaches to achieve this goal through: 1. the administration of the GH releasing peptides to the neonate to imprint an enhanced GH secretory pattern and feed conversion efficiency during growth ....Manipulation of the growth potential and carcass composition of domestic animal species. Finding alternatives to repeated growth hormone(GH) injection to boost production efficiency and minimise carcass fatness remains an important target for animal research. This application exploits the two novel approaches to achieve this goal through: 1. the administration of the GH releasing peptides to the neonate to imprint an enhanced GH secretory pattern and feed conversion efficiency during growth to maturity and 2. the development of an orally active form of these peptides by conjugation with VitB12 to facilitate intestinal absorption through the VitB12 transport mechanism for delivery to the hypothalamic/pituitary axis of animals nearing maturity.Read moreRead less