Project Leaders:   
Robert E.W. Hancock and Andrew Potter

Lead Institutions:   
University of British Columbia and University of Saskatchewan

Research Funding Program:   
Strategic Opportunities Fund - Round 4

Infectious diseases continue to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in domesticanimals and are of significant concern to human health due to their zoonotic potential. Whiledirect economic losses to livestock producers are large, these are dwarfed by the lossesassociated with international trade restrictions as has been seen in Canada with BSE, influenzaand other diseases.

Vaccination has proven the most cost effective means of preventinginfectious disease in animals, but the application of this technology towards zoonotic diseases isstill in its infancy. The project team aims to utilize a genomic-based approach to sequentially developvaccine candidates for an important disease of cattle Johne’s Disease in cattle (caused by M.avium subsp. Paratuberulosis).

This will include a preliminary examination of the host responseto infection by these pathogens to determine parameters that indicate a protective immuneresponse and guide the rationale development of novel adjuvants and immunization strategies,as well the identification of potential antigens through a reverse vaccinology approach in whichthe genes coding for all potential surface-localized and secreted proteins, as well as thoseexpressed in infected cells, will be expressed in E. coli. Immunoreactive candidates will betested for their potential protective capacities in high throughput large animal models.