Molecular Genetics of the Host Response to Zoonotic Infections in Chickens

Infected poultry meat is a major source of pathogens that cause food-poisoning and more serious clinical complications in man. One sustainable approach to reduce levels of zoonotic infections in farm animals is to exploit naturally occurring resistance. Work carried out over the previous 20 years at IAH has shown that inherited resistance to various poultry pathogens can be identified in inbred chicken lines. Originally developed in other research establishments, these chicken lines have been bred at the IAH for up to 40 generations and represent an extremely valuable resource for studying the genetics of disease resistance. <P>
The objectives for the next three years are:<OL> <LI> To identify and analyse differences in the response to challenge by Campylobacter in the IAH inbred chicken lines. <LI> To map and characterise chicken orthologues of mammalian genes likely to affect levels of food-borne pathogens in the chicken intestine.