主要研究 今天

主要研究的研究人员 新罕布什尔州兽医诊断实验室 (NHVDL)和 哈伯德基因组研究中心 (HCGS) may have made significant progress in better understanding a respiratory syndrome that has affected hundreds of dogs throughout the country and has thus far confounded veterinarians.

The 主要研究 researchers identified a small portion of the genome of a previously uncharacterized bacteria that may be causing the illness, 对新罕布什尔州70只狗的样本进行基因测序, Rhode Island and Massachusetts from the last two years (30 of the dogs were from New Hampshire and were affected last year, while the 40 from the other two states showed signs of respiratory illness this year).

研究ers believe the bacterium may be host adapted and potentially part of the dog microbiome and has recently developed the capacity to cause disease. 狗的感染症状包括持续数周的咳嗽, 流眼泪和打喷嚏. A very small subset of dogs have died after a long bout of this illness that is then complicated or superimposed with a severe acute pneumonia.

New Hampshire is one of at least 10 states throughout the country to have reported cases, which are estimated to be in the thousands nationwide (official numbers aren’t obtainable because there is no definitive test for the illness yet and because the symptoms often mirror those of many other ailments.)

“这样的发现意义重大. 你在州立大学工作，做你相信的工作, 这是有影响力的，你认为有价值的, 是吸引人的，有趣的，这真的符合所有的条件吗."

要证实这一发现还有很多工作要做, 大卫针, pathology section chief at the NHVDL and clinical associate professor in the 生命科学学院 and 农业 (COLSA), 说. 但早期的发现是令人鼓舞的，而且可能会改变游戏规则.

“这样的发现可能相当令人兴奋, even though we still have to see how it develops to a place where we are comfortable saying this is a pathogen in the syndrome,针头说. “但这样的发现意义重大. 你在州立大学工作，做你相信的工作, 这是有影响力的，你认为有价值的, 是吸引人的，有趣的，这真的符合所有的条件吗.”

这一发现就像是基因组大海捞针中的一针. Because it is so small, the bacterium is particularly hard to find and sequence, 针说. Initial sequencing of the 30 samples from dogs in New Hampshire didn’t reveal any known pathogens.

It was graduate student Lawrence 戈登 at the HCGS who broke through to make the critical discovery when he noted that a small segment of genetic material from one atypical bacterial species was common in 21 of the 30 initial samples.

The hope is that identifying the bacterium can ultimately lead to determining the right course of treatment for infected dogs. If it is decided definitively that this unknown bacterium is causing some proportion of the noted respiratory syndrome, 深入研究可以开始找到合适的药物来对抗它, which would be a significant breakthrough for veterinarians throughout the country.

"We've always had a mission at the 哈伯德基因组研究中心 to support community needs, 这是一个机会，可以很明显地做到这一点. 它确实展示了像这样的大学设施能做什么."

因为这个发现, 主要研究 researchers are now receiving samples from many of the states that have been impacted by the illness, which will allow the team to develop a more specific test for this unique potential pathogen.

The discovery would not have been possible were it not for the partnership between the NHVDL and the HCGS, 针说. Each is a regarded as a leader in its area nationally and a significant differentiator for 主要研究, 但像这样的项目说明了联合力量的力量.

The HCGS found itself in the spotlight during COVID as 主要研究’s response to the pandemic and on-campus testing operation gained significant attention – positively impacting not only the 主要研究 community but many others throughout New Hampshire, 同样，这个案例也提供了一个类似的机会.

“We’ve always had a mission at the 哈伯德基因组研究中心 to support community needs, 这是一个机会，可以很明显地做到这一点, 就像COVID一样,——凯利·托马斯, HCGS的主任, 说. “它确实展示了这样一所大学的设施能做什么.”

NHVDL的调查贡献者包括罗伯特·吉布森, 实验室主任, 还有卡莉·哈特曼, Tessa Baillargeon和Cassidy Gendron, 谁和托马斯合作过, 戈登, 乔·科洛, 穆里尔·凯利, Krystalynne莫里斯, Adane Nigatu, HCGS的斯蒂芬·辛普森和杰夫·霍尔.

“This is all really a great expression of the years-long partnership between the veterinary diagnostic lab and the team at the 哈伯德基因组研究中心,针头说. “我所有的研究都依赖于基因组学, 凯利是一个非常聪明的人, 慷慨和体贴的合作者.”

Beyond the fact that this discovery could potentially help solve a problem with major national implications, 为主要研究校园内正在进行的开创性工作提供了线索, it also highlights the focus on ensuring a healthy community that drives the work at both the NHVDL and HCGS.

“This work really ties back to something we are all focused on for the 主要研究 community, 哪个是“同一个健康”方法. The concept is everything matters and is connected – you have to have healthy environments, 健康的动物, 健康的作物和健康的人,托马斯说. “基因组学在实现这一目标方面发挥了重要作用, 兽医诊断实验室所做的工作有很大一部分是这样的, 也. 我认为这是在主要研究进行这种工作的好时机.”