Evaluating the application of small-RNA in chickens for control of avian infectious bronchitis virus infection

2020年，加拿大家禽业的年营业额为1.76亿只家禽和96亿枚鸡蛋，为国民经济贡献了77亿加元。由传染性支气管炎病毒（Infectious bronchitisvirus，IBV）引起的呼吸道病毒感染对养禽业尤其是蛋鸡业具有重要的经济意义，IBV可在幼龄和成年鸡体内复制，不同毒株可引起呼吸道、生殖道和泌尿系统的主要病变。因此，IBV感染可导致雏鸡死亡、产蛋量和蛋品质下降，限制了家禽生产的效益。新的变异株和异质性更强的IBV毒株的出现，已导致感染鸡群的传染性支气管炎（IB）暴发，造成严重的生产损失。这是由于缺乏交叉保护性免疫的发展。本研究将对家禽养殖场IBV感染的疾病控制策略产生重要影响。该项目的结果将介绍新一代免疫刺激剂作为一种安全和负担得起的产品的可能应用，以调节抗病毒反应而不影响生产力。此外，这项研究的结果为疫苗开发引入了新一代佐剂，具有更高的功效，这将成为许多病原体的概念证明。

In 2020, Canada's poultry industry has an annual turnover of 176 million birds and >9.6 billion eggs andcontributed $7.7 billions to the national economy. A respiratory viral infection caused by infectious bronchitisvirus (IBV) is economically important for poultry industry in general and table egg layer industry in particular.The IBV replicates in young and adult chickens and the primary lesions are observed in the respiratory,reproductive and urinary systems depending on the infecting IBV strain. Consequently, IBV infections maylead to mortality in young chickens and reduced egg production and quality in layers, limiting the profitabilityof poultry production.For the control of clinical disease caused by IBV, live attenuated viral vaccines are available. The emergence ofnew "variant" and more heterogeneous IBV strains, has led to infectious bronchitis (IB) outbreaks invaccinated flocks resulting in significant production losses. This is due to the lack of development of crossprotective immunity. This research will have significant impacts on disease control strategies against IBV infection in poultry farms. The results of this project will introduce possible applications of a new generation of immune-stimulant agents as a safe and affordable product to modulate antiviral responses without affecting productivity. In addition, the results of this study introduce a new generation of adjuvants for vaccine development with higher efficacy, which will be proof of concept for numerous pathogens.