The new system is a game-changer in research on IBV.
Researchers at Pirbright, in collaboration with New England Biolabs Inc., have developed an innovative approach to study infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a highly infectious avian pathogen.
The new method, published in PLoS ONE, will enable a faster response to IBV, particularly in vaccine development, slowing the spread of the disease.
The IBV is a virus that causes bronchitis, a disease that represents a significant problem for global poultry production, causing substantial economic losses. Virus control is a challenge due to the rapid mutation of the virus and because existing vaccines offer poor cross-protection against different strains.
Research at Pirbright has focused on studying individual IBV genes to understand the disease and develop better vaccines. Previous methods for studying the IBV genome have been slow and time-consuming.
The research team, led by Dr. Sarah Keep from Pirbright and Dr. Greg Lohman from New England Biolabs, utilized an optimized Golden Gate assembly process to develop a more efficient reverse genetics approach for IBV research.
The system offers a simplified and rapid approach for investigating virus biology. The flexibility of the system also means it can be rapidly applied to study emerging IBV variants for vaccine development.
Dr. Sarah Keep, senior molecular virologist in the Virus Group, said: “this new system is a game-changer for our IBV research and will enable us to develop vaccines to control the spread of this virus”.
Beyond IBV, the method could be used to study other viruses and other large-genome viruses, accelerating research and development of vaccines and treatments for various viral diseases.
This research was funded by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and New England Biolabs Inc.
Source: The Pirbright Institute