Moredun Magazine issue 17

Moredun ISSUE 17 | SPRING/SUMMER 2019

magazine

Collaboration with SRUC in livestock health The gut microbiome of Soay Sheep on St Kilda Nutrition and colostrum transfer

www.moredun.org.uk

Contents

Director’s comment

In this Issue: p1-2 News p3

Obituaries Prof Ian Aitken OBE and Mr Murdo Mackenzie MBE

p4

Aquaculture opportunities for Moredun

p5

Pentlands Science Park/ Moredun Scientific

p6

Moredun SRUC collaboration launch

p8

Out and About

p10

Study of Soay Sheep on St Kilda

p12

Nutrition and colostrum transfer

A very warm welcome to the Spring/ Summer edition of this year’s Moredun magazine. This issue highlights the vision for the strengthened Moredun and SRUC partnership as we welcome the SRUC Veterinary Services location to Moredun. This edition includes some of the successes of Moredun staff and board members, as well as a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Pentlands Science Park. It also showcases some of the current research projects and new research funding which have been successful across the Moredun Group.

A massive amount of planning, work and effort by all involved has seen the SRUC Veterinary Services teams now sharing new purpose built laboratories at Moredun.

This is just the start of our strengthened partnership with multiple innovative projects under discussion which encompass the combined expertise of the Moredun and SRUC research capability (page 6).

We are delighted to announce the start of a newly funded, highly interdisciplinary NERC funded project designed to answer the quest to know Soay sheep inside out (page 10) and we are also highlighting an interesting pilot project which suggests the importance of nutrition in the ability of new-born calves to absorb antibodies from colostrum (page 12).

Moredun have been busy out and about at events all over the country ranging from farmer workshops to conferences and science festivals (page 8). I would like to extend my congratulations to Professor The Lord Trees who is to be awarded the prestigious Queen’s Medal by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, which is the highest honour that can be bestowed by the College.

We hope that you will enjoy this issue of the magazine and thank you for your continued interest and support of our work.

Julie Fitzpatrick Scientific Director and Chief Executive

Moredun Magazine Moredun magazine is produced twice a year and is available free of charge.

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All images, unless otherwise stated, are ©Moredun.

To subscribe, contact: Moredun Communications Team, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PZ

Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

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Please contact: Moredun Communications Team, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PZ tel: +44 (0)131 445 5111 fax:+44 (0)131 445 6111 email: info@moredun.org.uk web: www.moredun.org.uk @MoredunComms

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The Moredun Foundation is a charity registered in Scotland, No: SC022515 Address: Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PZ Cover image: iStock.

NEWS

Professor The Lord Trees to receive Queen’s Medal Professor The Lord Trees of the Ross, Chairman of Moredun Research Institute, is to be awarded the Queen’s Medal by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

The award is the highest honour that can be bestowed by the College upon an individual veterinary surgeon. Professor The Lord Trees was nominated for his ‘immense’ contribution to the profession.

Professor Trees became Chair of the Board of the Moredun Research Institute in December 2011. In July 2012 he was made a life peer of the House of Lords and is currently the only veterinary surgeon represented in Parliament.

The major part of Professor Trees’ distinguished veterinary career has been in academic research and teaching in parasitic diseases at the University of Liverpool, where he held a variety of posts covering a period of over 30 years and where he remains an Emeritus Professor. Professor Trees was also President of the RCVS in 2009/10 and currently serves as the Veterinary Editor-inChief of the Vet Record.

Professor John Innes, who nominated Professor Trees for the honour, said: “He provides expertise to Parliament in

Professor The Lord Trees.

agriculture, animals, food and rural affairs,

He added: “In summary, it is challenging

education, energy and environment,

to think of a more deserving recipient of

health services and medicine, international

the Queen’s Medal. The breadth, depth and

development, professional regulation, science

impact of Professor Trees’ contribution to

and technology, tropical medicine and

our profession has been, and continues to be,

veterinary matters. In Parliament, he has been

immense.”

particularly active in areas such as welfare of

Professor Trees will receive his award at a

animals at slaughter, bovine tuberculosis, dog

special ceremony during RCVS Day on Friday,

breeding and the equine industry.”

12 July 2019.

Partnership with NSA renewed Moredun’s important collaboration with the National Sheep Association (NSA) was renewed in January, with another three-year term agreed between the two organisations.

Since the original membership partnership was created in 2011, Moredun and NSA have enjoyed a very positive relationship, increasing the impact of industry engagement through collaborative working.

This renewal will continue to build on the successful collaboration by working together

to promote the highest standards of sheep

contribution to Moredun for a number of

health and welfare and enhance educational

years, in recognition of the invaluable scientific

opportunities to help support the sheep

work it does for the sheep sector. We are

industry.

incredibly lucky to have a research body such

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, chief executive

as Moredun operating within the UK, with

of the Moredun Foundation, said ‘The NSA

globally recognised vaccines, diagnostic tests

does an outstanding job representing the

and treatment protocols being developed on

interests of its several thousand sheep farmers

our doorstep.”

and this affiliation will greatly strengthen

The two organisations will look to increase

Moredun’s existing links with the livestock

joint activities moving forward to continue to

industry.”

disseminate key technical messages in a way

Joanne Briggs, NSA Operations Director,

that is relevant to practical sheep farmers.

explains: “NSA has made a financial

Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

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News SAIC appoints Moredun’s Chief Executive as first female Chair to its scientific panel In December the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) appointed Professor Julie Fitzpatrick OBE as the first female Chairperson of its Independent Scientific Panel (SISP).

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick.

The SISP was designed to offer independent, scientifically-sound assessments of research and development projects in aquaculture at various stages from application to delivery and evaluation. The panel consists of respected experts from across the globe whose specialisms cover complementary areas, ranging from environmental impact to animal health and nutrition.

With a career spanning more than three decades in the global livestock health and welfare industry, Professor Fitzpatrick will head the committee after joining as a member in 2015. Her new role will focus on steering the direction of SAIC’s research interests.

Heather Jones, Chief Executive of SAIC, added: “Professor Fitzpatrick’s new role as Chair was a natural progression. Her passion for animal welfare and diverse insights into UK funding means she is well placed to take forward our ambitious vision for the SAIC Independent Scientific Panel. Not only will she be responsible for earmarking crucial funding for some pioneering projects, but she will play a key role in the strategic direction of the panel as we look to bolster our team of experienced members.”

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick OBE said: “It’s a great honour to be the first female Chair of such a pioneering organisation. Aquaculture is one of Scotland’s fastest growing sectors and there has never been a more important time to ensure the industry is heading in the right direction.

With innovation becoming even more critical to delivering sustainable growth, I’m keen to help build on Scotland’s position as a global leader in driving aquaculture forward.”

Mairi Gougeon Minister for Rural Affairs and Natural Environment visits Moredun We were delighted to welcome, Mairi Gougeon, Minister for Rural Affairs and Natural Environment at the Scottish Government to Moredun in January.

Discussions during the visit focused on how the new technologies being developed at Moredun were making a significant impact in improving the health, welfare and sustainability of livestock production through the prevention and control of disease. The Minister was also very interested to hear about Moredun’s knowledge exchange and education work to help ensure that the latest research developments are communicated effectively to those who may benefit from them.

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Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

From left to right: Dr David Longbottom, Dr Nia Ball, Dr Colin McInnes, Mairi Gougeon MSP, Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, Mr Ian Duncan Millar.

NEWS

Tackling Nitrogen Emissions: The launch of the UKRI GCRF South Asia Nitrogen Hub Moredun scientists were delighted to be part of a successful funding bid to launch a new project to help tackle nitrogen pollution in South Asia.

The new UKRI GCRF South Asian Nitrogen Hub seeks to improve nitrogen management in agriculture, saving money on fertilizers and making better use of manure, urine and natural nitrogen fixation processes.

The project secured funding worth a total of £20m through UK Research & Innovation’s Grand Challenges Research Fund (UKRI GCRF) and will be led by Prof Mark Sutton from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).

Moredun will be part of the project consortium which comprises a total of 52 partners, including all 8 South Asian countries,

14 partners from the UK, and multiple government and charitable organisations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Whilst carbon emissions, most notably methane emissions from livestock, get much of the negative press coverage, nitrogen emissions are arguably worse from an environmental standpoint. Nitrogen pollution comes in many forms, with multiple impacts for humans, animals and plant life. Gases such as ammonia (NH3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) contribute to poor air quality and can aggravate respiratory and heart conditions, while nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas that also depletes the ozone layer.

Nitrate from chemical fertilizers, manure and industry pollutes rivers and seas, posing a health risk for humans, fish, coral and plant life. Nitrogen pollution is particularly severe

in South Asia, with significant nitrogen losses from agriculture compounded by fossil fuel combustion, which can cause serious air and water pollution.

Livestock play a central role in this.

Sheep, cattle, goats, poultry and pigs are a vital resource for millions of poor farmers in South Asia, providing meat, milk, draught, fertiliser and even fuel. However, livestock manure and urine contribute significantly to nitrogen pollution in the region. Moredun’s role within the new Hub project is to gain a better understanding of the prevalent production diseases of livestock in South Asia, and the potential implications for animal and human health. Moreover, we hope to engage at village/farm-level to better understand the role of manure and urine management in this process.

Obituaries We are very sad to report the deaths earlier this year of two former colleagues at Moredun, Professor Ian Aitken and Mr Murdo Mackenzie

Professor Ian Aitken OBE Ian graduated as a vet from University of Glasgow in 1957 and then worked in Liverpool and Chicago before returning to Scotland to take up a post as Head of Microbiology at Moredun in 1978. He was appointed scientific Director at Moredun in 1985 and was in post until 1997. Ian had an international reputation for his research in livestock health and welfare where he made many significant contributions and he was also the editor for many years of the book Diseases of Sheep. Ian was instrumental in the decision to move Moredun to Pentlands Science Park.

From left to right: HRH The Princess Royal, Mr Jim Stobo, Professor Ian Aitken and Mr Murdo Mackenzie.

Mr Murdo Mackenzie MBE Murdo took up the role of Secretary of the Animal Diseases Research Association (now Moredun Foundation) in 1985 and helped to create Moredun Animal Health (now Moredun Scientific) as one of the very first commercial

subsidiaries of a government funded research organisation. He also had the vision and drive to help create Pentlands Science Park as the new home for Moredun which has enabled the organisation to grow and flourish.

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Research Aquaculture opportunities for Moredun Dr Bill Roy joined Moredun Scientific 6 months ago as Head of Aquaculture – we sat down with him to discuss his background, the world of aquaculture, and plans for the new aquaculture business stream.

How did you become involved in science?

I attended UCNW, Bangor to study marine biology and zoology and particularly enjoyed fish biology, which led to a Masters degree at Plymouth Polytechnic and then a PhD at the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture.

One of the main outputs of my work was the creation of a seawater fish tank system at the Institute’s Oban facilities and I really enjoyed the practical aspects of the project.

It was a very exciting time to be studying at the Institute of Aquaculture at this time in the late 1980’s as the aquaculture industry was expanding rapidly in Scotland and overseas, and the Institute seemed to be at the heart of many new developments.

Where did that work lead you to next?

After my PhD, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher on an EU project, and just 3 months later I was offered a role managing the Institute of Aquaculture’s new facility at Machrihanish in Argyll. This was ideal as I was able to continue doing research alongside managing the operation – indeed, I enjoyed it so much I stayed at Machrihanish for 27 years!

The facility was a seawater research station to provide experimental facilities for the Institute and others,. Our intent was for Machrihanish to be self-funding and this was successfully achieved with a wide variety of commercial contracts and research grants covering many different fish species and projects.

Dr Bill Roy, Head of Aquaculture, Moredun Scientific.

we decided not to move into commercial production. The next target for us was cod, since there was great interest in the potential for salmon farmers to diversify into this species. This led to us developing the UK’s first purpose built commercial cod hatchery and nursery at Machrihanish, with juveniles being sold on to the fish farming industry.

Atlantic salmon though were always the principal subject and the mainstay of our contract research. Much of our work focused on the issue of sea lice, which are a major problem for salmon farmers. Various projects at the facility looked at a range of treatments and biological control strategies.

What brought you to Moredun?

I was aware of Moredun’s reputation and had worked alongside several of the Moredun scientists previously looking at vaccination approaches to tackle the sea lice problems in the salmon farming industry. I was looking

for a new challenge and this happily coincided with a new business opportunity with Moredun Scientific (MSL).

My new role as Head of Aquaculture at MSL is a natural fit for my previous experience in the space between research and commercial production. It’s very clear that the activities at Moredun are all about developing practical solutions to practical problems. I am aiming to build our business through MSL and to spread the word of Moredun’s involvement in aquaculture. The studies that we plan to do are those that the industry urgently needs.

What synergies do you see between livestock health and aquaculture?

Aquaculture is a big employer and source of economic activity in many rural areas in Scotland where it makes a positive contribution. In terms of production tonnages aquaculture is about equal to the sheep and cattle industry in Scotland and is currently increasing at around 5% per year. Disease is a major constraint to aquaculture and losses are relatively large in comparison to most other livestock operations, so finding solutions to tackle disease will have a major impact on the sustainability of the industry.

I’ve been learning a lot about the livestock side of things just from being here! I see lots of advanced technology that hasn’t yet been looked at in regards to fish – these are very exciting and offer great potential to develop innovative solutions for aquaculture. I am really looking forward to developing the new opportunities open to me through collaborative working with colleagues at Moredun.

Developing the Machrihanish Facility Moving forward we looked for ways to develop commercial opportunities with the seawater facility and initially spent some time working with halibut and a lot of effort was put into developing techniques for rearing their early life stages. Halibut farming is a niche business in the UK, and the product is excellent, however

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Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

Machrihanish Facility.

Moredun Scientific/Pentlands Science Park

Moredun Scientific receives funding for Streptococcus suis project Moredun Scientific are pleased to have been awarded funding through the Eurostars-2 program for a three year project to collaborate with the Swedish company, Intervacc, to support the further development of an innovative vaccine to protect piglets against infection caused by the bacterial pathogen Streptococcus suis.

S. suis causes severe infections in some pig herds with devastating results for the pig industry. There are almost one billion pigs worldwide and there is a need for an improved vaccine which protects against all strains of the pathogen. The proposed new product will be based on recombinant proteins from the bacterial surface which are similar to bacterial proteins used successfully in Intervacc’s equine strangles vaccine.

Moredun Scientific has already worked with Intervacc to support the initial

development of their new vaccine. The Eurostars grant will fund a number of important steps including pre-clinical efficacy studies, analysis of the immune response and a strategy for vaccinating pregnant sows.

Moredun Scientific will develop new models of S.suis infection during the project which will be added to their portfolio of disease models available for use in client studies.

Dr Bill Golde, a porcine immunologist from the Moredun Research Institute, will bring expert input to the project to further understand the mechanism of immune protection in vaccinated pigs.

The Eurostars-2 program is a joint programme co-funded by the European Union through Horizon 2020 and national funding agencies. The total budget for the project is €1.6M. John Murray, Managing Director of Moredun Scientific commented: “Eurostars funding competitions are highly competitive so we are delighted to be successful with our application which continues our collaboration with Intervacc. The funding award confirms the importance of the S.suis vaccine project and highlights Moredun Scientific’s capabilities and expertise in supporting the development of veterinary vaccines.’’

For more information please contact David Reddick, Head of Animal Health, Moredun Scientific dreddick@moredun-scientific.com

Pentlands Science Park Celebrates 25 years 2019 sees Pentlands Science Park (PSP) celebrate its 25th anniversary.

After the early financial challenges of establishing the Park, PSP has been very successful and many tenants have grown and prospered here over the years. PSP still has some of its original tenants – Moredun Scientific commercial arm of the Moredun Foundation, LTS International who are located in Douglas House and Biobest in the HSU testing facility. EPP Ltd is also a long standing tenant having recently completed 20 years in the Glencorse Building and not far behind them are CSI Europe and SNBTS, both tenants here since 2001.

The loyalty and support of our tenants has been absolutely crucial to the long term sustainability of the science park and PSP is very grateful to all of our tenants with whom

we have enjoyed positive and beneficial relationships. We have had some challenging times with the loss of Viragen and Angel Biotechnology for example, but we have worked hard to overcome these setbacks and bring new tenants in. We have also had some real successes such as Biobest, which has grown from modest beginnings to a substantial veterinary diagnostics business; the growth of the BioReliance presence on site; TC Biopham one of the current successes of the Scottish Life Science industry who, initially, set up their company here, and Biotangents who recently successfully completed a major funding round. Most recently we have seen the completion of a major project to bring SRUC to the Park to join both Moredun and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) who moved on site in 1998.

The success of the Park, of course, relies on a dedicated team within PSP to manage and maintain the Park and to provide high quality services to support the activities of Moredun and our tenant companies. We have a great team in PSP from Reception and Facilities staff, Finance, Engineering, Stores, Conferencing, Grounds Maintenance, IT, Compliance and the other Group staff who contribute to the effective management of the site. These are supplemented by our security, catering and cleaning contractors who all consider themselves part of PSP. PSP was very sad to learn of the recent passing away of Professor Ian Aitken, former Director, and Murdo Mackenzie (p3) who played significant roles in the vision for, and planning and development of the Park. They leave a legacy of a Park that we are all very proud of.

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Research

Photo | Chris Watt Photography

Moredun and SRUC partnership: Smarter About Rural Animal Health To support the partnership, Moredun and SRUC Veterinary Services teams now share new purpose built laboratories at Moredun

Shared Facilities for Veterinary Services Mairi Gougeon MSP visits shared veterinary services facilities at Moredun.

Moredun and SRUC have always worked closely together through the provision of research and veterinary disease surveillance services to the Scottish Government. Now, a strengthened partnership will build on our complementary expertise and capacity in animal health, welfare, genetics, nutrition and pastoral farming systems to tackle the big challenges for livestock farming and food production.

Arising from these debates and discussions are eight “Big Idea� projects which will form a focus for collaborations and income generation from UK, EU and worldwide funding bodies.

These projects bring together the broad skills and expertise of staff from Moredun and SRUC including host and pathogen genomics, proteomics, genetics and breeding, welfare science, epidemiology, immunology, diagnostics and vaccinology.

To support the partnership, Moredun and SRUC Veterinary Services teams now share new purpose built laboratories at Moredun.

Two of the SRUC Veterinary Services disease surveillance teams - Microbiology and Histopathology - made the move to the new diagnostic facilities in the summer of 2018, with the rest of the Veterinary Services Analytical teams moving earlier this year. This new Centre for Animal Disease Surveillance and Research was opened by Mairi Gougeon MSP, Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, at a special event held at Moredun in March.

Moredun and SRUC announced their intention to form a new Strategic Partnership in November 2017.

Since the announcement, researchers from both organisations have worked together to identify the key challenges in agriculture that we all face, both nationally and internationally.

Even more importantly, collaborative teams have defined the research that they believe needs to be done to address these issues.

Joint Research Clusters Three Innovation Workshops were held in 2018 on the subjects: Smart Farming, Biosecurity and Enhanced Food Production.

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Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick (Moredun) and Professor Wayne Powell (SRUC).

RESEARCH

teams, focusing on the areas of maximum impact. SRUC and Moredun scientists will lead the way in developing new technologies and establishing routes to bring these to practical and commercial reality. Both organisations have extensive and longstanding links to

farmers, land owners and others involved in the custodianship of Scotland’s environment and our combined aim will be to support rural and urban communities across the country through research, development and knowledge exchange.

Photo | Chris Watt Photography

Some of the grand challenges we face, including food security, environmental protection and adopting a “One Health” approach linking health of humans, animals and our environment, requires teams of scientists working together in multi-disciplinary

Mairi Gougeon MSP unveils a plaque to mark the launch of the new SRUC laboratories at Moredun’s Pentlands Science Park.

Collaborative Research Projects Biosecurity, Smart Farming and Enhanced Food Production Arising from these debates and discussions are eight “Big Idea” projects which will form a focus for collaborations and income generation from UK, EU and worldwide funding bodies.

A number of ambitious research plans are being prepared to answer policy-relevant questions and to produce internationallycompetitive research proposals.

A successful outcome would allow the organisations to develop novel areas of cross institutional research between Moredun and SRUC that lead to vibrant new research clusters that:

 Address

national and international

challenges  Are

outcome driven and sector relevant

 Are

time limited, competitive and

dynamic in their composition  Ensure

the impact and diversification

of our research and diversify its funding  Support

and enable opportunities

for funding

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Out and About Another busy outing for Moredun’s Disease Detectives exhibition In April we were back at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh to run our highly acclaimed public engagement exhibition, Disease Detectives, as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Our team of scientists welcomed over 400 budding disease detectives through the door in just one afternoon, helping to guide the children through a series of interactive laboratory testing activities aimed at helping Farmer Fred discover what was wrong with his flock of sheep.

speak to the public about not only livestock health but about detecting and diagnosing disease caused by foodborne pathogens.

The foodborne element of Disease Detectives is currently being developed into an online resource for teachers and school children in partnership with our SEFARI colleagues.

Moredun is part of SEFARI - Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes a consortium of six globally renowned research institutes. As SEFARI, these institutes deliver the Scottish Government funded Strategic Research Programme (SRP), which addresses key mid to

Disease Detectives has grown and developed every year and provides a great platform to

longer-term challenges for Scotland’s environment, agriculture, land use, food and rural communities.

Moredun scientists at Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Calf Crop 2019: maximising your live calves Photo | Hannah Shaw

Earlier this year Moredun were involved in a series of workshops focusing on producing healthy calves and improving the efficiency of beef production. Calf Crop 2019: Maximising Your Live Calves drew on expertise from Moredun, SAC Consulting, Norvite, Edinburgh and Glasgow Vet Schools to deliver three informative sessions for beef farmers from across Scotland. The workshops – in Stirling, Thainstone and Carfraemill – covered subjects including still births and calving, common causes of calf losses, and colostrum management in suckler systems.

Beth Wells from Moredun was joined by Norvite’s David McClelland to present the findings from their iodine supplementation and colostrum absorption study (see page 12 for more information about this project).

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Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

OUT AND ABOUT

Moredun and Harper Adams host Sheep and Cattle Health and Welfare Day In January, a team from Moredun headed to Harper Adams University in Shropshire to co-host an event focusing on the control of key diseases in cattle and sheep. Over 100 students, vets and farmers attended the Sheep and Cattle Health and Welfare Day which featured talks, animations and practical demonstrations on a number of topics including:

 The

latest approach to sheep scab liver fluke in cattle and sheep Control of roundworms in cattle and sheep Toxoplasma and Neospora abortion Cryptosporidiosis in calves Understanding farmers’ perspectives on disease control Early detection of disease in cattle Breeding sheep for worm resistance

 Understanding



  

 

IVVN Conference A number of Moredun scientists took part in the UK and International Veterinary Vaccinology Network Conference in January. The event took place in London and saw over 200 delegates from 30 countries attend.

The conference focused on four main themes: ‘Vaccines for Ectoparasites’; ‘Vaccine Commericialisation’; ‘Antigen Discovery’ and ‘Controlling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) with Vaccination’.

The conference was followed by the second meeting of the Comparative and Veterinary Immunology Group (CVIG) for which 100 delegates attended, including Moredun scientist Sean Wattegedera - a committee member of this newly reformed affinity group of the British Society for Immunology. Building on the success of the inaugural CVIG meeting on B cells in November, this second meeting focused on non–conventional T cells - a topic of great interest to veterinary immunologists.

This was a very stimulating and informative meeting, which brought together immunology experts in large farm animals, chickens, mice and humans, providing an excellent opportunity to compare non-conventional T cells across these species.

A full house at Harper Adams during the presentation session.

BSAS Annual Conference In April, Moredun were delighted to join the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) at their conference in Edinburgh as they celebrated 75 years of progress in animal science.

The 75th BSAS Annual Conference focused on developments which could reshape animal science in the future and featured Moredun’s Professor Julie Fitzpatrick as a panel member of the SEFARI Livestock Panel Debate, ‘Can we have our meat and eat it?’

IVVN meet to discuss vaccine development and commercialisation.

Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

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Photo | Arpat Ozgul

Research The quest to know Soay sheep inside out!

Moredun researchers Dr Fiona Kenyon, Dr Tom McNeilly, and Dr Adam Hayward are delighted to announce the start of a new NERCfunded 5 year multidisciplinary project, to determine how gut bacteria and parasites affect health and reproduction in sheep. The Moredun team will be working closely with experts in ecology, evolutionary genetics, plantherbivore interactions, microbiology, diet and epidemiology to understand how the types of gut bacteria and parasites are influenced by diet, and how different bacteria and parasites affect the immune system and ultimately the health and fitness of the animals.

The project, which is led by Professor Dan Nussey of Edinburgh University, is a collaborative project with 11 other scientists,

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Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

Photo | Arpat Ozgul

Soay sheep on St Kilda archipelago.

and their groups, based at the Universities of Edinburgh, Sheffield and Aberystwyth, The James Hutton Institute and Moredun Research Institute. Moredun will lead on the immunological and parasitological aspects of the project.

The guts of humans and other animals are home to a vast array of different bacteria which have a significant impact on health.

These gut bacteria (also known as the gut microbiome) can educate the immune system (e.g. by training it to discriminate between harmful and harmless microorganisms), protect against infectious diseases, and contribute to digestion. In addition to bacteria, the gut has evolved to harbour parasites such as roundworms and coccidia, which can also be thought of as ‘normal’ residents of the gut. These parasites, and roundworms in particular, are very good at suppressing immune responses to allow their survival within the host, and a positive benefit of this is that they can prevent over-reaction of the immune system, such as occurs in

Diagram of the gut microbiome showing positive (green) and negative (red) interactions between microbes.

Scanning electron micrograph of two bacteria.

and reproductive success. By studying this population of sheep over a four year period, it is possible to track sheep from birth to adulthood, and adulthood to death, meaning it will be possible to monitor gut bacterial and parasite populations over a whole lifetime, something which is difficult to do in humans.

This will provide the first insights into how the parasite and bacterial populations within the animals vary over the lifetime of an animal; how these populations interact with each other and the host immune system; and ultimately how these interactions influence host fitness and longevity. Importantly, this project will also enable Moredun scientists to develop and improve rapid parasite species identification techniques, which will then be applied to livestock to inform parasite control strategies, and may identify gut microbiomes which could be exploited to improve sheep immune function and productivity.

Prof. Dan Nussey says: “I am extremely excited that Moredun is involved in this exciting project. The world-leading expertise in parasitology and immunology their involvement brings to our multi-disciplinary research team will be critical for its success.

Their experience understanding disease and resistance in domestic ruminants will help ensure that our findings in wild Soay sheep will be translated to the fullest extent possible to provide useful insights into livestock health.

This is one of the largest and most ambitious research projects I’ve ever been involved in, and I’m thrilled to be working on it with the fantastic team at Moredun.”

Photo | Alex Sparks

Photo | Arpat Ozgul

allergy. Indeed, one theory why allergies are increasing in humans in western societies is that we are no longer infected by parasites and our immune systems are more likely overreact to harmless substances.

While many studies have looked at the different types of bacteria within the gut and how they affect health, few studies have examined how different types of parasites affect health, nor how bacteria and parasites interact within the gut. This is largely because until recently there has been no way of determining the different types of parasites within a gut sample in a high-throughput manner. In this project, scientists at Moredun, led by Fiona Kenyon, will use a novel sequencing technique developed by Professor John Gilleard’s group at the University of Calgary, to rapidly identify parasitic worm species of sheep, which has been a long-term goal of parasitologists. The project will also utilise novel high through-put methods to characterise the immune system of sheep developed by Tom McNeilly, and the statistical prowess of Adam Hayward, the recently appointed Moredun Fellow. Dr Yolanda Corripio-Miyar is the post-doctoral research scientist employed tasked with the immunological and parasitological work.

The project will study the wellcharacterised population of Soay sheep living wild in the remote St Kilda archipelago which have been studied continuously since 1985 (http://soaysheep.biology.ed.ac.uk). These sheep are individually tagged and a wealth of data recorded, including weight, longevity

Photo | Becky Lister-Kaye

RESEARCH

View from the slopes of St Kilda showing the now deserted village.

Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019 11

Research

Photo | Hannah Shaw

Mineral ‘budgeting’ for the pre-calving season Interest in investigating whether over supply of iodine could adversely affect antibody absorption in calves led to a collaboration between Moredun Research Institute, Norvite and Livestock Health Scotland.

The succesful absorption of good quality colostrum soon after birth is critical for the health of new-born calves.

The vast majority of spring calving cows will have a planned diet based on forage analysis which is balanced to meet their requirements over winter and in the lead-up to calving.

This is good practice to manage cow condition but can also be applied to the mineral and micronutrient portion of the diet, where a focus on improved micronutrition can lead to increased colostrum quality.

iodine adversely affect absorption of colostral antibodies in calves, and therefore their ability to fight disease in the first few weeks of life?

The phenomenon is known as Failure of Passive Transfer (FPT) of colostral antibodies and has previously been identified in sheep

by Professor Tommy Boland and his team at University College Dublin. Their research highlighted that high levels of Iodine in the ewes’ diet pre-lambing prevented adequate absorption of colostral antibodies in the lambs. This detrimentally affects the immunity

Colostrum quality is one of the three keys to a successful start for calves, commonly referred to as the three Q’s of colostrum: Quality, Quantity and Quickly. However, even farms that focus on this good practice experience problems with calf health, so clearly many factors are involved in the first few hours following birth. Could the oversupply of

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Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019

of neonatal lambs and their ability to fight disease, as they rely on antibodies acquired via colostrum in the first few weeks of life.

Despite this phenomenon being replicated in sheep, it has not been clearly demonstrated in cattle. Interest in investigating whether oversupply of iodine could adversely affect antibody absorption in calves led to a

collaboration between Moredun, Norvite and Livestock Health Scotland. In 2018, with funding in place from Livestock Health Scotland, Beth Wells from Moredun and David McClelland (Norvite) began investigating the relationship between diet and neonatal calf health in beef herds. The results have proven very interesting indeed.

A survey of iodine supplementation was carried out on eight farms from Orkney to Lanarkshire. Total dietary iodine was calculated pre-calving and analysed alongside antibody absorption figures from a selection of calves per herd.

Although this was a small pilot study, the iodine levels represented a variety of geographical areas and mineral supplement regimes as shown in figure 1. The variation between the farms in the contribution of forage to iodine intake is large and illustrates the importance of individual farms carrying out an annual forage analysis before mineral supplementation is discussed with their nutritionist.

Colostrum uptake in a sample of calves was estimated using Zinc Sulphate Turbidity (ZST) as the standard test for colostrum absorption, where less than 5 indicates complete failure of passive transfer, 6-19 partial failure and 20+ is adequate. The results, presented in table 1, raise some very interesting points.

RESEARCH

“Farmers are being encouraged to pay attention to supplementing cows in the pre-calving period and are being advised to monitor and manage trace elements at this key stage, in a similar manner to the rationing of energy and protein levels in diets.�

David McClelland, Norvite

Figure 1 Contribution to Iodine levels in the diets of in-calf suckler cows in eight herds across Scotland.

Of the 70 calves sampled, only one third achieved adequate colostrum status with 13% in the danger zone of FPT. There was a wide variation in ZST levels within each farm, however, it is worth noting that farm 6 (highest iodine) had the lowest mean ZST and a history of neonatal calf disease (cryptosporidiosis), whilst farm 7 (lowest iodine) had the highest mean ZST and was the only farm to have no calves with FPT (<5).

It is evident that despite all the effort and focus around calving and lambing, improvements in colostrum management are only successful if its valuable nutrients and antibodies are absorbed effectively. Achieving the correct balance, by attention to detail including suitable micronutrition, can deliver significant benefits. If neonatal calf disease is affecting your herdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance and profitability, ask your vet to check antibody absorption in a selection of calves under a week old and put it in the management plan to consult your nutritionist to do a forage analysis and mineral budget for the in-calf cows to maximise live calves weaned and liveweight gain.

ZST Level

Colostrum Uptake (Passive Transfer Status)

% of Calves (n=70)

<5

Complete Failure

13

6-19

Partial Failure

53

20+

Adequate

34

Table 1: Summary of ZST Analysis and Colostrum Absorption.

Attention to detail including micronutrition is key to healthy calves.

Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2019 13

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