THE BIOTEK CYTATION 3 TO PROMOTE VACCINE DEVELOPMENT FOR BOVINE MASTITIS

Infections in the bovine udder represent highly significant economic burdens for the dairy industry worldwide. Increases in antibiotic resistance and the transmission of contagious bacterial agents that cause chronic disease have reinforced the need for effective vaccines. Vaccines have the potential to eliminate clinical and subclinical infection, reduce the dependence on antibiotics and improve overall milk production. We have proposed the characterization of novel vaccines to prevent bovine mastitis caused by the bacteriaStaphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus uberis. These pathogens can go undetected as subclinical disease but have detrimental effects on milk quality and production. Clinical field trials to assay the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of these vaccines have been designed and initiated. To support the laboratory development and translation of this technology, the funds from this equipment grant will support the aquisition of a BioTek Cytation 3 multimode microplate reader with automated fluorescent imaging system (#CYT3MFV, BioTek, Winooski, VT). This system will promote three main objectives to advance vaccine research in our laboratory; 1) to improve the production and quantification of purified vaccine products, 2) to streamline immunoassays to assess vaccine efficacy and 3) to characterize and screen vaccine candidates prior to animal testing. The BioTek Cytation 3 will significantly enhance our efforts to develop an effective vaccine to prevent bovine mastitis, and this research has broad implications for the worldwide dairy industry.