Scientists want to breed virus-resistant chickens

Scottish scientists conducted a study, as a result of which they found an opportunity to breed poultry with innate immunity against dangerous infections.

A team of scientists from the Roslyn Institute studied several types of chickens most susceptible to common poultry viruses and identified dozens of variations in the genes that play the most important role in the bird's immune response to infection. The researchers say that in the future, this will help breed poultry that is resistant to diseases such as avian influenza, Marek's disease, Gumboro disease, and chicken infectious bronchitis virus (IBV).

Scientists said that with the help of computer analysis they were able to detect variations in genes associated with the production of interferons and other molecules of the immune system. They then compared their results with a standard reference chicken genome to determine if there was an association between each variation and the bird's response to infection. As a result, 60 genetic variations were identified that affect the resistance or susceptibility of birds to each of the above infections. 

Further research is planned to further study the mechanisms involved and determine which genetic variations need to be transferred to chickens in order to develop innate immunity to the most dangerous diseases of birds. Also, the obtained data can serve as the basis for research related to the development of drugs, or the improvement of vaccines used in poultry farming, the institute said in a statement on its website.