ROSLINREPORTER Issue 29 Summer 2014 Highland Show 2014 What happened to the first half of 2014!? Well, to find out how we’ve been keeping busy at The Roslin Institute, read on… Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael swabs the Institute chicken supervised by l/r Pete Kaiser, David Argyle and Kate Harrison he Roslin Institute was once again at the of its celebration of the 20 years it has been TRoyal Highland Show this year alongside funding “Excellence in Bioscience” in the UK. Easter Bush colleagues from the Royal (Dick) The exhibit, called “Flu Fighters” showcases School of Veterinary Studies (R(D)SVS). current flu research including GM animals, This year the Institute brought two main novel approaches to vaccines and hands-on exhibits to the Show to illustrate the diagnostic tests and host/virus genetics. It kind of research that is underway at Easter explains scientific terminology e.g. ‘H5N1’, Bush. The first exhibit highlighted the cross- demonstrates how flu transmits from animals campus research underway in the study of to humans and highlights the challenges of dog genetics. We have a number of projects preventing large-scale outbreaks. across campus that study the genetics of hip Featuring an interactive computer game and dysplasia, glaucoma and heart/lung disease a chicken that visitors can swab to test for flu in dogs among other conditions. Along with The Roslin Institute and The Pirbright Institute Inside this issue: information about the research there was will also be running the activity at the Surrey an activity that demonstrated the genetics County Show and The Roslin Institute Open behind coat colour in Labradors. Day, part of Midlothian Science Festival Director’s Message Page 4 The second exhibit focussed on influenza viruses and the science behind the Science News Page 5 varied approaches to combating flu being developed at The Roslin Institute. This Other News Page 14 exhibit is a joint venture with colleagues before the main presentation at the Great from The Pirbright Institute and it is being British Bioscience Festival (http://goo.gl/ Recent Publications Page 31 funded by the Biotechnology and Biological aL47zp) being organised by BBSRC in Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as part London (November 2014). 2 The Royal Highland Show was as always a huge success and we’d like to thank the organisers, all our volunteers and of- course our many thousands of visitors who we had a great time sharing our science with and hearing what they think about what we do. Roll on 2015 ! 3 Directors message This newsletter is going out following a period of horizon scanning both as part of an internal review process and in the wider development of the future research strategy of The Roslin Institute with our Easter Bush Research Consortium partners at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (R(D) SVS), Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Moredun Research Institute. I mentioned in the previous Roslin Reporter that we have grand plans for the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush Campus. In March this year the University and SRUC announced that they are exploring opportunities for closer alignment of the two organisations. The Roslin Institute already has a strong and productive relationship with SRUC and I am delighted that With BBSRC CEO Professor Jackie Hunter we are going to be working with it to expand the opportunities that greater alignment will afford. drive sustainable improvements in animal it was enormously useful and has given us Our campus development continues with health and livestock productivity and I look much to consider ahead of the more formal plans being developed for The Centre forward to working with other industry partners review that will be carried out by the BBSRC for Comparative Pathology (integrating as our research portfolio expands. later this year. diagnostic, training and imaging resources for The Easter Bush Innovation Centre Building We were also delighted to welcome to The human, experimental animals, livestock and will provide further facilities that will be Roslin Institute, in May, Professor Jackie companion animals) and also the Large Animal attractive to our partners, research centres Hunter, the BBSRC chief executive officer. It Research and Imaging Complex. Bringing and commercial tenants as well as providing was Jackie’s first visit to the Institute since she such facilities to the Easter Bush Campus as the hub to the campus. The stage E design took up post eight months ago and we spent part of our wider campus development plans has now been completed and will be going out two days giving her a tour of the campus (more about these at www.easterbush.mvm. for tender for construction very soon. as well as showcasing some of our main ed.ac.uk) enables us to continue to pursue our Creating the right infrastructure for our work research areas. The latter task was entrusted vision for the campus to deliver excellence in is key to providing the best environment in to our students and postdocs who, once again, animal science and food security. which to carry out our research. At the end proved themselves really exceptional young Development of the National Avian Research of March, our Science Advisory Board (SAB) scientists who will certainly be highflying Facility (NARF) at Easter Bush Campus was spent a day at the Institute reviewing our scientists as their careers progress. I’m sure one of the selling points that resulted BBSRC-funded strategic programmes and Along the same train of thought I will finish in a three-year research agreement being providing us with feedback as to how to this message with a sincere congratulations to signed between Cobb-Vantress, Inc., a global refine the research during the second half all the postgraduate students who presented industry leader in poultry genetics, and The of the funding period as well as beginning to their research at the R(D)SVS and Roslin Roslin Institute (more later in this newsletter). identify some of the key strategic areas that Institute Postgraduate Student Day at the end The joint partnership with Cobb is an excellent we should be considering moving forward. I’d of April. We have some seriously talented example of the kind of industrial interactions like to thank all the members of the (SAB) young scientists establishing their skills here that allow The Roslin Institute’s research to for taking the time to undertake that review; and I am, as ever, prodigiously proud of them. 4 Science News Tackling virtual infectious disease rofessor Tom Freeman together with that it will be possible to eliminate drug and Pcolleagues at The Roslin Institute, vaccine candidates that are less likely to be University of Edinburgh, Italy and Ireland has successful thereby reducing the numbers of won a proof-of-concept award through the animals currently used in such tests. NC3Rs’ CRACK IT Challenges competition. The funding is part of the CRACK IT This funding scheme is aimed at employing Challenges programme, led by the UK’s new ways of working that will eventually National Centre for the Replacement, reduce the number of animals needed for Refinement and Reduction of Animals in research to discover and develop new drugs Research (NC3Rs). The funding programme to fight infectious diseases. is an open innovation platform that was set Professor Freeman’s project aims to create a up in 2011 to solve scientific and business Virtual Infectious Disease Research platform problems with a 3Rs theme. Tom to simulate the course of an infection and Professor Freeman said of the award, “We the body’s immune response. The work will have been developing the tools to do this initially focus on the computer modelling of kind of work at The Roslin Institute for a complex interactions between an immune cell number of years, such as the cell network called a macrophage and its infection by the analysis tool, Biolayout Express3D funded influenza virus that causes flu. by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Control of infectious diseases is a key priority Research Council. in human and veterinary medicine. A study to The new NC3Rs funding provides us with an test the efficacy of new antibiotics or vaccines excellent opportunity to really establish how can typically require around 100 animals for these approaches can be used in an industrial each drug candidate that is tested. context and in a directly beneficial way.” This project will develop new computing tools Funding for 2014 CRACK IT Challenges and ways of working with the aim of predicting come from the Technology Strategy Board’s the efficacy of drugs. In this way the hope is Small Business Research Initiative. by New recruits to the BRF Dave Davies & Pridans Clare ou can see all the lambs as you drive to from a third clone expected to deliver at the YEaster Bush and at The Roslin Institute we beginning of June. have had the pitter-patter of even tinier feet! Rat The generation of the genetically modified transgenesis is a new project for us and over ESC (Csf1r-/-) was performed by Linda the last six months we have gained invaluable Sutherland in Tom Burdon’s lab and forms experience and are now reaping the benefits. part of Clare Pridans’ research (David Hume Our first three chimeras were created through lab) to investigate the role of Csf1 in postnatal embryonic stem cell (ESC) technology. growth and development. Genetically modified ESCs derived from brown rats (Dark Agouti) were injected into developing embryos from albino donor (Sprague Dawley) rats. The injected embryos were then surgically implanted into a pseudo pregnant recipient rat. If you look closely, Ziggy has 1 red eye and 1 dark eye.