Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

In the absence of the elected Secretary, Juan Carlos Rodriguez-LeCompte, Bob Taylor volunteered to assume the Secretary duties. The members further decided by acclamation that Bob Taylor would rotate as the 2010 Technical Committee Chair and Juan Carlos would serve as Secretary for that meeting.

NIFA Representatives Report
Muquarrab Qureshi, NIFA Representative, complemented the Technical Committee on the quality of the meeting. He discussed the October 1, 2009 change of CSREES to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Dr. Roger Beachy, formerly of the Danforth Foundation, has been appointed by the President to be the first NIFA Director.

Dr. Rajiv Shah is the NIFAs Chief Scientist after prior service with the Gates Foundation. The structural composition of NIFA has not been finalized but all legislative authorities remain with the organization. The future agenda will be outcome driven rather than priority driven.

Administrative Advisors Report
Bradley Hillman, Administrative Advisor, observed that the NE-1034 Technical Committee provides clear evidence for outcomes of collaboration. He further indicated that newer members who join the project provide stimulus to the research effort in terms of technology and vigor.

Chair Sue Lamont acknowledged the hard work of Drs. Qureshi and Hillman.

Preparation of Chairs Report
Sue Lamont requested that all reports be provided to her as MS Word documents to facilitate preparation of the Chairs report.

Future Meetings
Mark Parcells will host the 2010 meeting at the University of Delaware. The membership voted to avoid, to the extent possible, a schedule conflict with the Avian Immunology Research Group in Budapest, Hungary on October 7  10, 2010.
2011 = Ton Schat will host at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
2012 = Mohammad Heidari will host at ADOL, East Lansing, MI

Distribution of Station Reports

A question arose about distributing station reports to non-members. Sue Lamont suggested that non-members send their requests to the Chair by a specified deadline.

The Chair would forward these external requests to the members who then could provide or withhold their station reports.

Visitor Policy
Gisela Erf mentioned the policy for visitors. In prior years, visitors were added to a special invitation list. For 2009, the members were provided a list of those visitors who might attend the meeting. There was general agreement among the members that 1) this process should continue as it worked satisfactorily; and 2) future meetings would begin with official introduction of all attendees.

New Member
Sergei Golovan, University of Delaware, was nominated for Technical Committee membership by Shayan Sharif. Mark Parcells seconded the motion. Bob Taylor asked that Sergei be advised of the attendance policy and the membership responsibilities. Mark Parcells said that he and Calvin Keeler will communicate that information to Sergei.

Bob Taylor will mail the current address list to all members and collaborators with a stated deadline for additions and corrections. The updated list will then be distributed.

Other Business
Muquarrab Qureshi mentioned possible liaisons with other technical committees. He pointed out that the S-10 Technical Committee will hold a meeting in France with several dairy industry groups hosting the committee. He added the possibility of coordinating the NE-1034 meeting with international gatherings such as the Avian Immunology Research Group.

Bradley Hillman cautioned that Agricultural Experiment Station funds are not available for international travel.

Thanks
Sue Lamont thanked the following individuals and organizations:
Gisela Erf = meeting host
Jeannine Durdik = Welcome reception host
Tyson, Inc. = Sponsor
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture = Sponsor
University of Arkansas Department of Poultry Science = Sponsor
Tyson Chair of Immunology = Sponsor

Gisela Erf thanked Sue Lamont for her service as Chair. She also recognized Sue for her eventful 2009 when she was elected a Poultry Science Association Fellow and won the PSA Embrex Award.

Bob Taylor moved to adjourn the meeting. Pat Wakenell seconded the motion which passed without opposition.

Specialized poultry genetic lines for research were maintained at several stations (AR, CA, DK, IA, NC, NL, NY, USDA, VA).

CH demonstrated a role of BG1 in MHC-linked resistance to Mareks disease. The MHC B-region map was enriched with 46 genes in 242 kb (CH). CH, in collaboration with colleagues in Japan, has provided insights into the contribution of mutation, recombination and gene conversion to the diversity among 14 MHC -B haplotypes. CH and CA showed the order of genes to be: MHC-B  GC-rich region  MHC-Y  NOR. CH analyzed the structure of YF class I molecule and are also characterizing cells with natural killer activity. DK determined the sequence of the B21-like haplotypes B131 and BW1. MHC haplotypes were shown to affect susceptibility to the parasite, Ascaridia galli (DK). MHC was associated with SBRC antibody response and with body weight (NC). NL produced a more extensive description of MHC haplotypes in 12 layer lines. Proteomics of MD-infected spleens showed differential expression between B19 and B21 chickens (ON). VA cloned chicken IL-19 and the recombinant protein was shown to increase expression of Th2 cytokines in splenocytes and monocytes. Decreased expression of liver expressed protein-2 (LEAP-2) expression was correlated with high lesion scores from coccidiosis (VA). Infection with E. praecox decreased the expression of TLR-15, cathelidin and LEAP in gut tissue (VA). DK characterized variation in the region of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) gene that controls expression. QTL associated with anti-SRBC antibodies were identified (NC). QTL regions on GGA 3, 4, 5, 7, 26 and Z and a selection of candidate genes were shown to be associated with several immune-response parameters (NL). NH demonstrated differential gene expression between aortic tissue of lines of pigeons resistant or susceptible to atherosclerosis, and between right ventricles of broiler lines resistant or susceptible to ascites, and in embryonic tissues of high or low SRBC antibody selected lines treated with testosterone proprionate. IA profiled the transcriptional response of chicken macrophages to endotoxin. TX found that many miRNAs were differentially regulated during avian influenza virus (AIV) infection. Polymorphisms in the Mx gene were associated with virus titer in embryos and young broilers (TX). T cell responses to AIV and the corona virus, infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were characterized in detail by WU. Transcriptional profiling of chicken gene expression during MDV cytolytic infection demonstrated differential patterns of immune response transcriptome between latent and cytolytic phases (USDA). Transcriptional response of chicken macrophages to several stimulants of toll-like receptors (TLRs) suggested that TLR15 in chickens may partly fill the role of mammalian TLR9 (IA). Investigation of MHC-matched but MD resistant and susceptible lines showed that the CD8+ T cell populations differed (USDA). Effect of genetic breed was demonstrated on the expression of immune-related genes in isolated heterophils, and in splenocytes of chickens either fed immunomodulators of challenged with Salmonella enteritidis (IA). Serological data from SPF flocks supported the hypothesis of latency as an important aspect of chicken infectious anemia virus pathogenesis (NY). Cytokines were shown to be differentially expressed in CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets (ON).

OBJECTIVE 2. Identify and characterize environmental, dietary and physiologic factors that modulate immune system development, optimal immune function and immune system related disease resistance and welfare in poultry genetic stocks.

Feeding of high dose dietary beta-glucans, compared to low dose or none, reduced coccidiosis lesions in young broilers (VA). Direct feeding of microbials (DFM) resulted in thymii that consume more energy, more rapid onset of anti-SRBC response, and decreased expression of Th1-related genes (NC). Organic and conventional diets were shown to induce differences in immune responses of layers (NL). Modulation of response to E. coli by yolk was demonstrated (CA). The two-generation model of sub-clinical vitamin A deficiency effects on bursa was further characterized (CA). Challenge with airborne antigens initiated changes in immune response and heart morphology in broilers (NL). Antibiotic-induced absence of Gram-negative bacteria in the gut of young chickens was shown to result in a lower systemic antibody response to model antigens (NL). Natural antibody levels (Nab) were related to risk of mortality (NL). Comparison of broilers and layers at the same age showed mixed (high/low) relative relationships of response with type of chicken (NL). Inflammatory components were shown to affect natural antibody binding characteristics (NL). NL estimated NAb heritabilities to be about 0.30. Differentially expressed genes were identified in cecal tonsils of broilers infected with Campylobacter jejuni (TX); the expression profile differs between resistant and susceptible genetic lines and between resistant and susceptible individuals within each line. Gene expression and histopathology were characterized during the development of vitiligo in Smyth line (SL) chickens (AR). Various environmental triggers of vitiligo in the SL were examined (AR). Different strains of MDV were shown to induce different percentages of vitiligo in the SL chickens (AR, USDA). MDV isolated from a quail cell line was shown to be similar to JM strain in pathogenesis in quail and chickens. The full length pp38 expression was shown to be important for the development of MDV tumors (NY). Collaboration among ON, NY and USDA developed an aerosol model of MDV infection. Study of lung tissue showed induction of innate host responses to MDV infection (NY, USDA, ON).

OBJECTIVE 3. Develop, evaluate and characterize methodologies, reagents and genotypes to assess immune function and disease resistance to enhance production efficiency through genetic selection in poultry.

AR continued characterization of the feather pulp as an in vivo test tube. With involvement in the Turkey Genome Sequencing project, VA has initiated analysis of immune-response elements in the turkey. The CFSE proliferation method was proven useful for studying vaccine-induced antigen-specific T cell responses in the chicken (DK). Assay optimization for macrophage and T cell activity was conducted (WU). A T cell epitope of AIV was shown to be recognized by chicken T cells (ON). DE characterized the Meq oncogene of MDV, regarding selection for expression, recombination, virus replication, tumor incidence, and pathogenicity. DE conducted immunophenotypic analyses of RB-1B and 1137-transformed cell lines. WU constructed a coronavirus vector for AIV by reverse genetics. The immune responses to IBV in the Harderian gland and cecal tonsils of immunocompetent chickens and chickens infected with chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV) and/or infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) was compared (AL). Response to in ovo vaccination against AIV Ad5-H5 was characterized (AL). The conjunctiva-associated lymphoid tissue (CALT) in chickens was characterized by FACS and immunohistochemistry (AL). NC developed a peptide antibody to turkey iNOS.