Location: Agroecosystems Management Research
Project Number: 5030-31000-007-016-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jun 1, 2025
End Date: May 1, 2027
Objective:
1. Modify and optimize a USDA-patented Salmonella vaccine to serve as a platform for delivery of a CRISPR-Cas DNA-targeting system.
2. Evaluate the vaccine delivery platform in turkey poults for quantitative reduction of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Infantis (serogroup C) in the gastrointestinal tract and systemic organs.
Approach:
A patented (US9868769B2 and US10351606B2), attenuated Salmonella vaccine will be modified to function as a modular platform for delivery of a rapid Salmonella-specific killing system using adapted CRISPR-Cas DNA nuclease technology. The chimeric technology will be evaluated in turkeys as a novel mitigation strategy for targeted killing of Salmonella while simultaneously vaccinating against future pathogen introduction.