April 5, 2010

Duck gene tips off bird flu in Canadian study

Canadian researchers have discovered a gene in ducks that helps detect influenza and potentially can prevent the spread of the virus in chickens.

Katharine Magor, an associate professor of biology at the University of Alberta, led a team that discovered a gene called RIG-I (retinoic acid inducible gene -- I) in ducks.

This gene detects when a virus begins to spread in ducks and initiates the bird's immune response. The gene does not exist in chickens raised for the table and leaves them at risk.

"We have shown that ducks have RIG-I, and chickens seem not to," Magor said. "If we put RIG-I back into chicken cells, it works, so it would likely improve the chickens' response to influenza if we put the gene into them."

Although H5N1 is more common in ducks and can spread to chickens, dangerous strains do not arise in ducks and that led to Magor's research.