Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    • October 2023
    • Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    • September 2023
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
  • FREE Email Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
Twitter LinkedIn
Podcast
Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    1. June 2025
    2. 2025 Innovation supplement
    3. May 2025
    4. April 2025
    5. March 2025
    6. 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    7. February 2025
    8. January 2025
    9. December 2024
    10. November 2024
    11. October 2024
    12. September 2024
    13. 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    14. August 2024
    15. 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    16. July 2024
    17. 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    18. June 2024
    19. 2024 Innovation supplement
    20. Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    21. May 2024
    22. April 2024
    23. March 2024
    24. February 2024
    25. January 2024
    26. December 2023
    27. November 2023
    28. Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    29. October 2023
    30. Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    31. September 2023
    Featured

    Poultry Business – June 2025 issue

    By Chloe RyanJune 9, 2025
    Recent

    Poultry Business – June 2025 issue

    June 9, 2025

    Poultry Business – 2025 Innovation supplement

    June 9, 2025

    Poultry Business – May 2025 issue

    May 15, 2025
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
Poultry News
News

Chicken gene find could help improve vaccines

Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanDecember 4, 20192 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

The discovery of a gene active in specialised chicken gut cells paves the way for studies investigating better design of vaccines.

A key gene known as CSF1R has been found to be active in specialised epithelial cells, which line the surfaces of tissues in the body.

This was an unexpected finding as CSF1R is typically expressed in cells known as macrophages, which detect and kill infection, not in epithelial cells.

The results in studies with chicken cells pave the way for research looking to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines in chickens and at how pathogens invade the body.

Scientists at the Roslin Institute used transgenic reporter chickens — a method for visualising gene expression — to observe the transport of particles and pathogens by specialised epithelial cells.

These bear similarities to M cells in mammals, which have the same function. The key difference is the expression of the CSF1R gene in chicken M cells.

This discovery, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, paves the way to studies using the CSF1R gene as a biological indicator of M cells to investigate infection and immunity in chickens.

“The use of transgenic reporter chickens and imaging methods normally enables us to observe CSFR1 gene expression in macrophages, which detect and kill pathogens,” said Dr Adam Balic, Roslin Institute. “We were surprised to find that this gene was also expressed in the chicken’s epithelium, but quickly realised that this provided an excellent opportunity to study chicken M cells at a level of detail that has not been possible before.”

“We will continue to work on M cells to better understand how they develop in the young chick, whether they can be targeted to improve vaccine uptake and how they are abused by invading pathogens to infect chickens,” said Professor Lonneke Vervelde, Roslin Institute.

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Previous ArticleAssurance scheme tightens rules
Next Article Lib Dems urge Boris Johnson to protect farmers post-Brexit
Chloe Ryan

Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

Read Similar Stories

Feed & Nutrition

Siemens partners with Entocycle to digitalise insect farming industry

June 16, 20252 Mins Read
News

RSPCA Assured to host free webinar on new laying hen welfare standards

June 16, 20252 Mins Read
News

Mixed picture for poultry in Defra’s latest farming income report

June 9, 20251 Min Read
Latest News

Ranjit Boparan buys out Hook2Sisters

June 16, 2025

Siemens partners with Entocycle to digitalise insect farming industry

June 16, 2025

RSPCA Assured to host free webinar on new laying hen welfare standards

June 16, 2025
Sponsored Content

Navigating Sustainability in Egg Production: Practical Steps for Producers

June 1, 2025

Maintain stable and continuous coccidiosis control amidst stocking density reductions

November 1, 2024
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

  • Farmers Weekly
  • AA Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • Pig World

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.