Projects

The One Health Poultry Hub (OHPH) is funded for five years by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)  through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), and the work also aims to meet the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s priorities. OHPH is one of 12 UKRI GCRF interdisciplinary research Hubs launched in 2019, each applying transformative research approaches to address intractable development challenges which have proved resistant to change. OHPH is led by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), London, and comprises of partners in Asia, Australia, Europe and the UK.
The UKRI GCRF One Heath Poultry Hub is an impact-driven development research programme working in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Taking an interdisciplinary and intersectoral ‘One Health’ approach, the hub explores how rapid expansion of poultry production increases risk of infectious disease and why certain processes and behaviours are risky. 

Members involved: Fiona Tomley (Lead PI), Androniki Psifidi, Ankit Hinsu

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heritable heart disease in cats and humans. It affects ~0.2% of humans and ~15% of cats. HCM is defined by primary left-ventricular myocardial hypertrophy and in cats is associated with increased risk of congestive heart failure, aortic thromboembolism and sudden cardiac death. The prevalence of feline HCM and lack of treatments to modify the disease process demonstrates the importance of studies aiming to understand the genetics and underlying mechanisms of HCM susceptibility. To date there are limited relevant feline HCM genomic studies which have identified only 5 HCM-associated variants. Our hypothesis is that HCM is a complex disease of polygenic inheritance. To explore this, our aims are; 1) To map and evaluate genomic regions affecting HCM susceptibility in cats using a Genome Wide Association Study, 2) Identify gene expression signatures of HCM using RNA-sequencing, 3) Integrate results to identify genetic markers and biomarkers for prediction of HCM susceptibility and 4) Determine the structural effect variants have on the encoded protein. Identifying risk-increasing genetic variants and relevant gene networks and pathways involved in HCM susceptibility could lead to development of novel DNA- diagnostic tests and drug-treatment targets.
Members involved: Androniki Psifidi, David Connolly, Virginia Luis Fuentes, Tom Smedley, Ozge Sidekli

Lameness in dairy cows has significant welfare and economic effects through reduced reproduction and milk production, and increased culling rates. Claw horn disruption lesions (CHDL) are non-infectious foot lesions that can cause lameness and were reported to affect over 40% of dairy cattle globally. There is genetic variation related with host resistance to CHDL development in dairy cows, therefore, genetic improvement, along with farm management interventions, could reduce the incidence of CHDL. In this project we have combined meticulous animal phenotyping with multi-omics, including: whole genome sequencing, genome wide association studies, eQTL and transcriptomic analyses, and DNA methylation analysis, to improve our understanding of the genetic architecture of CHDL susceptibility and inform future breeding strategies.
Members involved: Androniki Psifidi, Georgios Oikonomu (University of Liverpool), Xiaoxia Dai, Elizabeth Attree

In this iCASE project, we aim to explore the relationship between host microbiome, chicken genetics, and its impact on overall bird health and performance, in conjunction to susceptibility to zoonotic pathogens. Our general methodology involves farm experiments, nucleic acid testing, next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. Results will be used to develop improved strategies in poultry husbandry and management.
Members involved: Ozan Gundogdu (LSHTM), Androniki Psifidi, Gladys Maria Pangga

Equine exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) is a syndrome involving painful, exercise induced episodes of muscle stiffness and acute myonecrosis which can result in renal failure and in severe cases, death. While it is seen in many different species from humans to dogs, horses seem to be particularly predisposed. In thoroughbreds an incidence rate as high as ~5% of the population has been reported. Moreover, other pleasure horses are predisposed to the disease, in particular Warmbloods. It is known that there is a genetic component affecting ER susceptibility (h2=0.34-0.49), meaning it can be passed on from parent to offspring. However, the environment still has an important role in the occurrence of the syndrome with factors such as diet, behaviour and sex playing a role in whether a horse will develop an ER episode. We have shown previously that ER has distinct subgroup phenotypes and that these have a distinct genetic background, with the majority of the genomic markers associated with the disease located in non-coding regions of the genome.

Research has already shown that ER primarily affects muscles rich in Type 2 (fast oxidative and fast glycolytic) fibre types. We are interested in answering why these fibre types are mostly affected. 

Based on our previous research we hypothesis that ER is a heritable complex trait, that there are distinct regulatory genomic regions that are active in muscles with primarily oxidative or glycolytic function and in the case of ER that there is regulatory region dysfunction mainly in glycolytic muscles. Now, we have a new iCASE studenship with Holos Life Sciences which aims to investigate these hypotheses using a multi-omics (merging genomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics and 3D genomics) approach. We hope to gain more of an understanding of how ER occurs and why, enabling us to discover better ways of managing the condition, develop epigenetic tools with predictive capacity in order to improve horse health and welfare, and help them to continue to compete to the full extent of their abilities

Members involved: Androniki Psifidi, Charlotte Cuffe

Ovine respiratory disease (ORD) is a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and productivity loss in both adult sheep and growing lambs and is adding to a loss envelope that is both economically, and potentially environmentally unsustainable for the UK sheep industry. Like bovine respiratory disease, ORD is thought to be a multifactorial problem, where commensal microbes become pathogenic because of a change in the balance between the microbe and the host’s immune system. The cause of this ‘switch’ is not well described in sheep, and this makes preventive management interventions a matter of guess work. ORD is a clinical problem for sheep-keeping regions globally, with evidence from UK veterinary surveillance that cases of ORD are increasing year on year. Our hypothesis is that current measures for control of ovine respiratory disease are insufficient and should be updated. A better understanding of ORD is necessary to underpin future research and solutions to reduce the impact of ORD.

Members involved: Androniki Psifidi, Chris Cousens (Moredun), Ankit Hinsu

Digital dermatitis (DD) is a painful, infectious, foot skin disease that compromises the welfare of hundreds of millions of production and wild ruminants. Digital dermatitis is endemic on more than 90% of UK dairy farms and more than 50% of the UK dairy herd (circa 1.87 million milking animals) are affected annually. Bacteria of the genus Treponema are considered the main pathogen associated with DD; however, the aetiopathogenesis and genomic architecture of the disease have not yet been elucidated. The disease affects individual cows differently, with some animals resolving infections and others becoming chronically infected, possibly due to differences in immunological responses. The important role of host genetics and potential for improving animals' resistance to DD through genetic selection programmes have been documented by the applicants and others. However, the actual genomic architecture and molecular mechanisms underlying animal resistance to the development of DD are still unknown. Moreover, the role of host genetics in general and the resulting host immune response in disease progression and in animals' ability for recovery have not been studied yet. A thorough understanding of these mechanisms will provide additional aetiopathogenesis insights, underpin biology driven breeding programmes aiming to reduce incidence of DD and improve recovery from DD, inform the development of effective targeted treatment interventions, and help identify novel vaccine and drug targets. We hypothesise that host genetics play a key role in the pathogenesis of digital dermatitis with host-pathogen interactions determining the development and resolution of the disease. Our overarching goal is to conduct an interdisciplinary, integrated study to further our understanding of the aetiopathogenesis and the molecular mechanisms leading to the development of DD, investigate host-pathogen interactions, and determine the genetic architecture and the optimum breeding strategy to enhance animal resistance to DD development and animal ability to recover from DD. 

Members involved: Androniki Psifidi, Georgios Oikonomou (University of Liverpool), Ankit Hinsu