Poultry CRC APPLICATION OF IMMUNOGENOMIC TECHNOLOGIES TO POULTRY: BUILDING A BETTER CHICKEN

As is the case for all young animals, newly hatched chicks are highly susceptible to infection. A major problem faced by poultry industries worldwide is reduced productivity due to disease. The two main mechanisms used to control disease over the past several decades have been antibiotics and vaccines. Antibiotics have been widely used in intensive livestock systems- in addition to controlling bacterial disease, they also have growth promoting activity. Unfortunately, the extensive use of antibiotics and chemicals over a long period of time has resulted in the emergence of pathogens that have become resistant to such treatments. Public and government concerns over these issues have led to restrictions in the use of antibiotics in food production animals and this has driven the search for alternative health products. Vaccination strategies provide the second arm of protection from disease. In the past decade, several hyper-virulent strains of poultry pathogens have emerged and these have been difficult to control using conventional vaccines. There is now a need for alternative vaccines for several key diseases of commercial importance to the poultry industry. We have taken a new approach to address these key issues. By combining functional genomics, immunology and gene silencing technologies (immunogenomics), we hope to develop new strategies and products that will enhance the productivity and health of not only poultry, but livestock in general