The poultry industry is
an essential component of the
Canadian food system.
But since 2022, Avian
Influenza has swept through
and devastated farms
533 farms
have been impacted
14,399,800 poultry
have been culled in Canada due to
avian influenza
The impacts are felt
internationally through all
sectors.
Avian influenza threatens
The livelihood of farmers
Global health
Food security
Many farmers have had to close their farms due to financial instability caused by avian influenza.
The World Health Organization has acknowledged avian influenza as a virus with pandemic potential.
Avian influenza significantly decreases livestock populations, disrupting supply chains for food.
Current detection methods are...
Slow
Inaccessible
Costly
These factors prevent detection and early containment action.
In light of avian influenza, there is a
need for a better diagnostic tool,
Which is why we used the power of synthetic biology to design:
A point-of-care biosensor for the detection
of viral sequences.
Rumino uses a toehold-mediated
strand displacement reaction for
detection.
- A single-stranded DNA branch with a toe-hold region is binded to another sequence with a hydrophobic group, causing the sides of a capillary tube to become hydrophobic.
- The target viral strand enters the system and binds with the toehold region, displacing the sequence with the hydrophobic group.
- The sequence with the hydrophobic group becomes completely displaced, making the surface hydrophilic and changing the wettability of the glass surface.
To accompany Rumino, we developed RumiVec, a system that's able to produce Non-infectious and
non-pathogenic MS2 bacteriophages with a desired sequence within its genome.
This will allow us, and other researchers to safely validate viral
sensors using a model virus, without the need of using
hazardous and dangerous samples.
We've tested Rumino as a proof-of-concept, and the results are promising. This technology has the potential to change the landscape of disease
control, not only for poultry, but for public health as well.
Learn more about our project below!
Project
Wet Lab
Dry Lab
Activities
