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ARS Home Research Annual Report on Science Accomplishments FY 2021





- Advancing Human Nutrition Research
- Advancing Sustainable Aquaculture Production
- Advancing Sustainable Livestock Production
- Combating AMR
- Combating Citrus Greening
- Controlling Insect Pests
- Developing New Crop Varieties
- Expanding Public Access to Agricultural Information
- Improving Pasture and Rangeland Management
- Improving Rural Economies
- Monitoring and Mitigating Plant Disease
- Optimizing Agricultural Management to Mitigate Climate
- Optimizing Water Use Management
- Protecting Animal Health Disease Detection
- Protecting Human and Animal Health
- Protecting Pollinator Health
- Reducing Labor and Advancing Precision Agriculture
- Safeguarding the Food Supply

**Protecting Animal Health through Disease Detection, Prevention, and Control** DOWNLOAD TWO-PAGER PDF  **The ARS Animal Health research program protects and ensures the safety of the nation’s agriculture and food supply through improved disease detection, prevention, and control.**ARS researchers aredeveloping diagnostics, vaccines, and other mitigation strategies for many diseases found in multiplelivestock species to provide stakeholders with tools to reduce the need for antibiotics, facilitate antibioticstewardship, and preserve animal welfare. ARS scientists developed vaccines against Streptococcus suisand avian coccidiosis that have been transferred to commercial partners for further development. Thefollowing accomplishments highlight ARS advances in animal health research in 2021. **Discovery of continuous cell line to detect African swine fever virus infectious field isolates.**African swine fever virus (ASFV) field isolates only replicate in primary cultures of swine white blood cells(macrophages), which are time consuming to prepareand require a herd of healthy donor pigs. These factorsmake swine macrophage cultures inaccessible for mostdiagnostic laboratories trying to identify infections insuspect field samples. ARS scientists in Greenport,New York, discovered that a cell line of monkeyorigin, Ma-104, was highly susceptible to infectionwith field isolates of ASFV. Results showed Ma-104cells can be readily infected by all ASFV isolatestested. Furthermore, ARS researchers discovered thedetection sensitivity was just below that of primaryswine macrophage cultures and above the sensitivityof conventional real-time PCR methods. This discoveryis of paramount importance for ASFV diagnostics as itwill enable diagnostic laboratories worldwide to performdetection of ASFV infectious particles using a readilyavailable cell line that is easy to grow. A patent coveringthe use of Ma-104 cells for ASFV diagnostic was filed bythe ARS Office of Technology Transfer. **Remotely operated nematode sprayers provide non-chemical control of cattle fever ticks.**Cattlefever ticks (CFT) threaten U.S. animal agriculture because they transmit the microbes that cause bovinebabesiosis, a disease that causes rapid death in cattle. In south Texas, wildlife such as white-taileddeer and nilgai antelope serve as alternative hosts for CFT, complicating efforts to eradicate the ticks. Anovel technology to treat wildlife infested with cattle fever ticks with microscopic parasitic roundworms(nematodes) was successfully tested and shown to be effective. ARS scientists in Edinburg, Texas, workedclosely with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Veterinary Services and ranchers in southTexas to conduct large-scale field tests of a nematode sprayer to eradicate CFT on free-ranging nilgaiantelope. More than 100 sprayers were deployed to apply nematodes across more than 5,000 acres asthe nilgai moved through fence crossings. Treated nilgai were found to be infested with significantly lowernumbers of cattle fever ticks than non-treated nilgai. **Better dewormers for small ruminants****.** Anthelminthic drug resistance cripples attempts to dewormsheep and goats, which can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Veterinarians and farmersurgently need new tools to protect animal health and ensure the productivity of small ruminant farms.ARS researchers in Beltsville, Maryland, worked with university collaborators to refine a new, safe, and cost-effective method to produce a potent therapeutic paraprobiotic called Inactivated Bacterium with Cytosolic Crystals (IBACC). Whereas a probiotic contains live microbes, a paraprobiotic containsinactivated microbes to enhance health. When given to sheep, 3 doses reduced the number of eggs shedby 90 percent, the total number of worms by 72 percent, and the number of female worms by 96 percent.Biologists think worms will face difficulty evolving resistance to this therapy. Once commercialized, thisapproach has enormous potential to benefit livestock producers. **New Johne’s vaccine for cattle.**Johne’s disease, a serious disease of dairy cattle, is caused byMycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis(MAP). ARS researchers in Ames, Iowa, conducted trialsin dairy calves to test a new sub-unit Johne’s disease vaccine containing a cocktail of recombinantproteins. In two trials, the highest dosages of the vaccine significantly reduced MAP colonization ofintestinal tissues and resulted in the greatest reduction in infection. The vaccine also reduced fecalshedding of the pathogen, which is important for stopping on-farm transmission. Data has been used tosupport the patent application for this vaccine. These results will be of interest to producers, regulatorypersonnel, and researchers interested in intervention strategies for preventing Johne’s disease indomestic livestock. Cheung, Lance (with permission of the Navajo Nation). Navajo Technical University (NTU) has been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as they continue to improve their Veterinary Technology program. September 9, 2019. https://flic.kr/p/2hZ6U9T


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