Parasitology
Integration of Functional Genomics and Immunology and their
Application to Infectious Diseases in Ruminants (nematode component)
Smith, D
This project is part of a consortium involving Moredun , both Scottish Veterinary Schools, the Scottish Agricultural College and the Roslin and Compton Research Institutes. The nematode component is one of three disease systems being pursued under this veterinary training and research initiative
Gastrointestinal nematode parasites are a major cause of economic loss to grazing ruminants world wide. Currently control largely relies on anthelmintic drugs. Unfortunately worm strains resistant to these drugs are widespread throughout the world. Sustainable alternatives to the existing anthelmintic groups are needed as there are no novel compounds close to market. It is clear that biological methods of control will need to be developed in the longer term. One possibility is vaccination, especially as sheep and cattle do acquire immunity to worms; another is to identify genetic markers of host resistance to accelerate progress with breeding resistant stock. Through the application of functional genomics to the local gastric response to infection, patterns of gene expression in resistant and susceptible groups of sheep can be compared.
The project will focus on Teladorsagia circumcincta in sheep, partly because Teladorsagia is the most important ovine nematode in Britain , but also because powerful methods for studying the local immune response in this host-parasite system have already been developed at the Moredun Research Institute.