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Amanda Corla in a lab coat and wearing purple gloves, sat on a chair in front of a microscope

Celebrating Pirbright’s women in science

To celebrate the 8th International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we shine the spotlight on three of our female scientists to find out what inspired their career in research and what advice they would give to other women looking for a career in science. Abigail Hay –…

Flock of orange chickens pecking at dusty ground

New tools to help understand infectious bursal disease virus variants developed by Pirbright researchers

Researchers at The Pirbright Institute have developed new tools and techniques to determine the breadth of immune responses produced by vaccines against different variants of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). IBDV is a major threat to the productivity of the global…

Group of nine goats of different colours walking on green grass

REPRODIVAC: Pirbright to create next-generation vaccines and diagnostics to prevent livestock reproductive diseases of worldwide impact

The Pirbright Institute, together with 15 other partners across seven European countries (Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany and, Switzerland) has recently secured funding from the UKRI Horizon Europe Guarantee Scheme to develop innovative vaccines…

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The origin of internal genes contributes to the replication and transmission fitness of H7N9 avian influenza virus

H9N2 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) have donated internal gene segments during the emergence of zoonotic AIVs, including H7N9. We used reverse genetics to generate A/Anhui/1/13 (H7N9) and three reassortant viruses (2:6 H7N9) which contained the hemagglutinin and…

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Recombinant turkey herpesvirus expressing H9N2 HA gene at the HVT005/006 site induces better protection than that at the HVT029/031 site

Turkey herpesvirus (HVT) is widely used as an effective recombinant vaccine vector for expressing protective antigens of multiple avian pathogens from different loci of the HVT genome. These include the HVT029/031 (UL22–23) locus for the insertion of IBDV VP2 and the…

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Fully attenuated meq and pp38 double gene deletion mutant virus confers superior immunological protection against highly virulent Marek's disease virus infection

Marek's disease virus (MDV) induces immunosuppression and neoplastic disease in chickens. The virus is controllable via an attenuated meq deletion mutant virus, which has the disadvantage of retaining the ability to induce lymphoid organ atrophy. To overcome this deficiency…

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Silencing RNAs expressed from W-linked PxyMasc "retrocopies" target that gene during female sex determination in Plutella xylostella

The Lepidoptera are an insect order of cultural, economic, and environmental importance, representing approximately 10% of all described living species. Yet, for all but one of these species (silkmoth, Bombyx mori), the molecular genetics of how sexual fate is determined…

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Reverse genetics based H5N2 vaccine provides clinical protection against H5N1, H5N8 and H9N2 avian influenza infection in chickens

The current study aimed to develop broadly protective vaccines for avian influenza. In an earlier study, HA stalk (universal flu vaccine) was found to be broadly protective against different subtypes of influenza virus in mice. Hence, we were interested to know its breadth…

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A naturally occurring microhomology-mediated deletion of three genes in African swine fever virus isolated from two Sardinian wild boars

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the etiological agent of a lethal disease of domestic pigs and wild boars. ASF threatens the pig industry worldwide due to the lack of a licensed vaccine or treatment. The disease has been endemic for more than 40 years in Sardinia (Italy)…

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Current epidemiology and co-infections of avian immunosuppressive and neoplastic diseases in chicken flocks in central China

The avian immunosuppressive and neoplastic diseases caused by Marekâs disease virus (MDV), avian leucosis virus (ALV), and reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) are seriously harmful to the global poultry industry. In recent years, particularly in 2020–2022, outbreaks of such…