Niche Area of Excellence-Department of Veterinary Microbiology, LUVAS

ICAR-NICHE AREA OF EXCELLENCE PROJECT

on
“Phage Display Techniques for Production of Veterinary Immunobiologicals without

Sacrificing Animals”

(F. No. 5(13)2017-EP&HS) (Approved in January, 2019)

Introduction

The Department of Veterinary Microbiology, LUVAS which was established as Department of Bacteriology & Hygiene, CCS HAU in 1965, has taken a lead role for teaching and research in Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology. The pioneering and first-time lead studies have been made in the fields of Poxviruses, Salmonella, Foot-and-Mouth disease virus, Bluetongue virus, Equine Herpesvirus, Bovine Rotavirus, buffalo immunology, Phage Display Technology for nanobody production, monoclonal antibody based assays, molecular diagnostic tests etc. The faculty and students have won several awards, honours and recognition, including Rafi Ahmad Kidwai Memorial Prize, Hari Om Trust Award, ICAR Team Award, National Professor and National Fellows, Young Scientist Award, University Gold Medals besides Commonwealth Doctoral Scholarships and Post-Doctoral Fellowships.

The Department of Veterinary Microbiology has taken a lead role in India to introduce and develop modern technologies for production of immunobiologicals for diagnostics, therapeutics and other applications. Hybridoma technology for monoclonal antibodies of diagnostic utility against buffalo IgG, Trypansoma evansi and Pasteurella multocida B:2 have been produced and employed in diagnostic tests. Among Veterinary Institutes in India, the Department of Veterinary Microbiology has taken a lead role in Phage Display Technology. Recognizing the experience and expertise of the Department of Veterinary Microbiology, LUVAS, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi has established a Niche Area of Excellence on “Phage Display Techniques for Production of Veterinary Immunobiologicals without Sacrificing Animals” with effect from January 2019. The mandate of the centre is to carry out advanced research in this area and develop human resource through workshops and training programmes.

Title of the Project: “Phage Display Techniques for Production of Veterinary Immunobiologicals without Sacrificing Animals”

Goal:

To use Phage Display Techniques for Production of Veterinary Immunobiologicals without sacrificing animals
Human Resource Development by Capacity Building of faculty members, students and farmers.

Objectives:

Isolation and characterization of single domain antibody clones against antigens of FMD virus, Pasteurella multocida B:2, Brucella abortus and Staphylococcus aureus for development of suitable penside diagnostic tests.
Development of yeast expression system for already isolated endotoxin-neutralizing single-domain antibody clone(s) from phage display library and determination of its physico-chemical properties and biological activity.

To develop Human Resource in the form of trained post graduate students and capacity building of the faculty members for knowledge and skill upliftment along with awareness of the farmers and women entrepreneurs by organizing extension education programmes.

Budget

Year wise budget

S. No.	Time period	Total budget (Rs. in Lakhs)
1.	2019, Jan-March (3 months)	5.80
2.	2019-20 (12 months)	167.18
3.	2020-21 (12 months)	49.76
4.	2021, April to December (9 months)	18.76
Grand Total		241.50

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Dr. Naresh K. Kakker, Professor & Head, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Sciences, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana

Name of Co-Principal Investigators:

Dr. Swati Dahiya, Scientist, Department of Veterinary Microbiology

Dr. Akhil Kumar Gupta, Scientist, Department of Veterinary Microbiology

Dr. Anshul Lather, Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Microbiology

Dr. Parveen Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Microbiology

Dr. Mahavir Singh, Scientist, College Central Laboratory

College of Veterinary Sciences, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana

Capacity Building

Conducted following workshops/ training programmes

S. No.	Title	Place	Duration	No. of participants
1.	Fundamental Techniques for Antibody Production	Department of Veterinary Microbiology, LUVAS, Hisar	February 4-5, 2020	20
2.	Phage Display Technology and its Applications	Department of Veterinary Microbiology, LUVAS, Hisar	March 2-7, 2020	20