Salmonella in poultry: improving vaccine efficacy . The central aim of this project is to increase the antigenicity of aroA mutant Salmonella Typhimurium vaccines, in particular Bioproperties’ Vaxsafe® ST. Increased antigenicity will affect the gut microbiota and stimulate a stronger host immune response improving vaccine efficacy and the duration of protection against S. Typhimurium in poultry. This will ultimately reduce bacterial loads in the farm environment, mitigate downstream contaminatio ....Salmonella in poultry: improving vaccine efficacy . The central aim of this project is to increase the antigenicity of aroA mutant Salmonella Typhimurium vaccines, in particular Bioproperties’ Vaxsafe® ST. Increased antigenicity will affect the gut microbiota and stimulate a stronger host immune response improving vaccine efficacy and the duration of protection against S. Typhimurium in poultry. This will ultimately reduce bacterial loads in the farm environment, mitigate downstream contamination of the food supply chain, and reduce the number of human salmonellosis cases.Read moreRead less
Safeguarding Australia against vector-borne disease bio-incursions. Traditional diagnostic tests limited by their accuracy and ability to detect more than a few pathogens at one time, presents a major hurdle to protecting Australia's companion animals from a plethora of exotic and emerging vector-borne diseases (VBD). Many of these diseases also pose a major risk to public health. This project aims to develop, validate and verify a highly accurate, cost-effective, portable metabarcoding diagnost ....Safeguarding Australia against vector-borne disease bio-incursions. Traditional diagnostic tests limited by their accuracy and ability to detect more than a few pathogens at one time, presents a major hurdle to protecting Australia's companion animals from a plethora of exotic and emerging vector-borne diseases (VBD). Many of these diseases also pose a major risk to public health. This project aims to develop, validate and verify a highly accurate, cost-effective, portable metabarcoding diagnostic test capable of detecting known, emerging and novel parasitic, bacterial and viral VBD pathogens simultaneously, from clinical samples. The assay will represent a potential paradigm shift in the way VBD are tested, for the purpose of safeguarding Australia against VBD bio-incursions.Read moreRead less
Functional identification of vaccine targets in pathogenic mycoplasmas. Mycoplasmas are important bacterial pathogens in domestic animals that are incompletely controlled by current vaccines. As a result current control measures for the diseases they cause rely on ongoing treatment with antibiotics. This project will aim to use functional genomics and metabolomics to determine the function of specific surface proteins of a model mycoplasma to identify targets for novel approaches to vaccines aga ....Functional identification of vaccine targets in pathogenic mycoplasmas. Mycoplasmas are important bacterial pathogens in domestic animals that are incompletely controlled by current vaccines. As a result current control measures for the diseases they cause rely on ongoing treatment with antibiotics. This project will aim to use functional genomics and metabolomics to determine the function of specific surface proteins of a model mycoplasma to identify targets for novel approaches to vaccines against these pathogens, and to then assess the potential for inclusion of these proteins in vaccines. Ultimately this will lead to improved vaccines against these important pathogens, improving agricultural productivity and reducing the use of antibiotics in intensively raised livestock.Read moreRead less
Molecular approaches to limit herpesvirus recombination. This project aims to generate safer attenuated herpesvirus vaccines for use in veterinary medicine by genetically manipulating the herpesvirus genome to reduce virus recombination. Recombination is recognised as a safety concern for a range of attenuated herpesvirus vaccines. This project is expected to generate viruses that have an impaired capacity to recombine with other viruses. These viruses will then be tested as candidate vaccines f ....Molecular approaches to limit herpesvirus recombination. This project aims to generate safer attenuated herpesvirus vaccines for use in veterinary medicine by genetically manipulating the herpesvirus genome to reduce virus recombination. Recombination is recognised as a safety concern for a range of attenuated herpesvirus vaccines. This project is expected to generate viruses that have an impaired capacity to recombine with other viruses. These viruses will then be tested as candidate vaccines for use in veterinary medicine. This offers a new approach to developing safer veterinary vaccines that will benefit our important animal industries.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100030
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,486.00
Summary
Improving the use of antimicrobials in Australian veterinary practices. This project aims to understand the drivers for antimicrobial use in veterinary medicine and develop methods to improve appropriate antimicrobial use in animals. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of veterinary antimicrobial stewardship using an innovative interdisciplinary approach. The project's use of new technology is expected to result in the development of novel tools that enhance capacity to ad ....Improving the use of antimicrobials in Australian veterinary practices. This project aims to understand the drivers for antimicrobial use in veterinary medicine and develop methods to improve appropriate antimicrobial use in animals. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of veterinary antimicrobial stewardship using an innovative interdisciplinary approach. The project's use of new technology is expected to result in the development of novel tools that enhance capacity to address antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary medicine and build institutional collaborations. This should provide significant benefits such as improved antimicrobial use in animals and evidence for which antimicrobial stewardship policicies can be developed in veterinary medicine.Read moreRead less
Effectiveness of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Australian Veterinary Clinics. Antimicrobial resistance threatens Australians' health, Australia's animal health and its reputation for providing safe and reliable food. Overuse of antimicrobials is a driver of antimicrobial resistance. This project aims to address the overuse of antimicrobials in animals by implementing antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary practices and developing methods of antimicrobial use surveillance. It is the first compreh ....Effectiveness of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Australian Veterinary Clinics. Antimicrobial resistance threatens Australians' health, Australia's animal health and its reputation for providing safe and reliable food. Overuse of antimicrobials is a driver of antimicrobial resistance. This project aims to address the overuse of antimicrobials in animals by implementing antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary practices and developing methods of antimicrobial use surveillance. It is the first comprehensive study to address and assess inappropriate use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine- and is expected to improve quality use of antimicrobials by veterinarians and prolong the efficacy of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine. This presents a critical step in reducing community exposure to antimicrobial resistance.Read moreRead less
Imperfect vaccination drives herpesvirus evolution through recombination. Vaccines are used to help control disease caused by herpesviruses in animals, but some vaccination programs may drive the evolution and spread of herpesviruses with increased fitness (transmissibility, replication and virulence) through recombination. This project aims to study an important avian herpesvirus (infectious laryngotracheitis virus) in the natural host (poultry) to gain fundamental knowledge of how vaccination ....Imperfect vaccination drives herpesvirus evolution through recombination. Vaccines are used to help control disease caused by herpesviruses in animals, but some vaccination programs may drive the evolution and spread of herpesviruses with increased fitness (transmissibility, replication and virulence) through recombination. This project aims to study an important avian herpesvirus (infectious laryngotracheitis virus) in the natural host (poultry) to gain fundamental knowledge of how vaccination programs influence the emergence of diverse recombinant viruses, and identify which types of vaccination programs are best at preventing the emergence of fitter and more virulent viruses. The results are expected to inform vaccination practices to allow more effective control of these viruses in poultry and other animals.Read moreRead less
Role of Pasteurella surface polysaccharides in pathogenesis and immunity. Livestock infections cause major economic losses worldwide. The bacterium Pasteurella multocida causes multiple diseases in a range of livestock, including hemorrhagic septicaemia in cattle and fowl cholera in poultry. Two surface polysaccharide structures, capsule and lipopolysaccharide, are crucial for P. multocida to cause disease. Our data indicate that varying the amount/content of these structures also affects vaccin ....Role of Pasteurella surface polysaccharides in pathogenesis and immunity. Livestock infections cause major economic losses worldwide. The bacterium Pasteurella multocida causes multiple diseases in a range of livestock, including hemorrhagic septicaemia in cattle and fowl cholera in poultry. Two surface polysaccharide structures, capsule and lipopolysaccharide, are crucial for P. multocida to cause disease. Our data indicate that varying the amount/content of these structures also affects vaccine performance. This project aims to identify how the production of these P. multocida structures are controlled and if changes to these structures affect its ability to infect different animals/birds. Using this information, the project aims to develop state-of-the-art livestock vaccines with superior disease coverage.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101063
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,948.00
Summary
Bacterial cell invasion factors as vaccine targets. This project aims to determine the virulence factors responsible for cellular invasion and systemic spread of Mycoplasma bovis, and use genome editing technologies (CRISPR-Cas9) to create gene knock out mutants that cannot invade host cells and test their potential as vaccine candidates in animals. Mycoplasma bovis is an emerging cause of mastitis, the most important infectious disease in the dairy industry, and causes significant economic loss ....Bacterial cell invasion factors as vaccine targets. This project aims to determine the virulence factors responsible for cellular invasion and systemic spread of Mycoplasma bovis, and use genome editing technologies (CRISPR-Cas9) to create gene knock out mutants that cannot invade host cells and test their potential as vaccine candidates in animals. Mycoplasma bovis is an emerging cause of mastitis, the most important infectious disease in the dairy industry, and causes significant economic losses. The vaccine candidates developed in this project are expected to be used to control outbreaks of mastitis, and to improve biosecurity, production and animal welfare in the Australian and global dairy industries.Read moreRead less
Using RNA interference to combat the worst emerging disease of wildlife. This project aims to develop a novel method of disease control in wildlife. It will use recent advances in RNA interference technology to knockdown virulence genes in an emerging pathogen that threatens biodiversity. Pathogens such as the amphibian chytrid fungus continue to cause widespread extinction and urgently require better control methods. RNA interference has been used to increase disease resistance to fungi in plan ....Using RNA interference to combat the worst emerging disease of wildlife. This project aims to develop a novel method of disease control in wildlife. It will use recent advances in RNA interference technology to knockdown virulence genes in an emerging pathogen that threatens biodiversity. Pathogens such as the amphibian chytrid fungus continue to cause widespread extinction and urgently require better control methods. RNA interference has been used to increase disease resistance to fungi in plants but adapting this approach for animals will have wide relevance in combatting fungi and other pathogens. The specific outcomes of this method will be to increase survival rates in a broad range of frog species to improve the success of captive release programs worldwide and hence save frogs from extinction.Read moreRead less