CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT: ACCELERATED INTROGRESSION OF SYNTHETIC HEXAPLOID DERIVED DIVERSITY INTO AN APPLIED HARD WINTER WHEAT BREEDING PROGRAM

Long-term goal. The long-term goal of this proposal is to reduce foodborne outbreakscaused bynontyphoidal Salmonella associated with poultry meat, eggs, and poultry products by minimizing Salmonella colonization of chickens and contamination of shell eggs by developing an effective vaccine, which can provide protectionagainst multiple Salmonella serovars and a high throughput rapid diagnostic tool for the detection of Salmonella in shell eggs.The specific objectives of the proposal are to:i. Assess the immmunogenicty and efficcay of InvG protein of Salmonella Enteritidis against a challenge of S. Enteritidis in chickens.ii. Determine if antibodies against InvG can transfer passively from vaccinated hens to progeny chickens, thus providing protection against homologous and heterologous Salmonella.iii. Construct an E. coli-vectored vaccine expressing InvG to minimize colonization of chicken intestines and ovaries by nontyphoidal Salmonella.iv. Establish a proof of concept, high throughput, rapid test for targeting InvG on the surface of Salmonella found in shell eggs.