Tag: Infectious bronchitis virus

Variation in chicken interferon genes may account for susceptibility/resistance to viral pathogens

A study of different lines of chickens, known to be either more resistant or more susceptible to common poultry viruses, has uncovered dozens of variations in genes with a central role in the chicken immune response to infection. The findings, published in Animal Genetics, may point to genetic variations that determine birds’ response to infection, […]

Infectious bronchitis virus: reverse genetics system aids vaccine development

Researchers from The Pirbright Institute working to improve vaccines for infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) have developed a reverse genetics system, based on the pathogenic IBV strain M41, to identify genes which can be targeted for rational attenuation. Current vaccines for IBV are created by serial passage of virulent IBV field isolates through embryonated hens’ eggs. […]

Coronavirus RNA synthesis occurs within membrane-bound sites

In a study of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), published in Viruses, researchers at The Pirbright Institute found that replication of coronavirus genetic material (RNA) in host cells happens in a separate membrane-bound compartment within the cell. These compartments are likely to provide a way to protect the RNA from being recognised by the cell’s natural […]

Infectious bronchitis virus: increasing vaccine heat resilience could improve performance

Studies from The Pirbright Institute and the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute show that two vaccines against specific strains of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) do not offer complete protection against a third strain, and that this may be partly down to the temperature range the vaccine virus can survive in. Commercial IBV vaccines are currently […]

Infectious bronchitis vaccines: study highlights the need for targeted genetic modification of viruses

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have shown that Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) vaccines produced in eggs have unpredictable mutations which may be prone to reversion in the field. Live attenuated vaccines, where IBV is weakened so that it causes less severe or no disease, are used in the field as they offer better protection compared […]

Research aims to lower the cost of IBV vaccine production

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) vaccines are currently produced in hen’s eggs – a cumbersome and expensive process – because most IBV strains do not grow in cell cultures. In a step towards making vaccine production more efficient and reducing costs, a team led by Dr Erica Bickerton at The Pirbright Institute identified the exact genetic […]