Johne’s disease can be a deadly infection, estimated to cost the industry $40 million to $88m in lost production a year.
A team of biochemistry students testing their concept hope to have results confirming the effectiveness of the LuMoo device before they head to France in October to present their innovative work at the iGEM Grand Jamboree, the world’s largest synthetic biology competition.
Within the team are third-year students William Oakley, Matthew Goodwin, Isabel Bradley, Myles Landon, Amy Dellow, Maddie Barrett, Joseph Ramana and Bree Drinkwater.
Research indicates over half of all dairy farms have had cases of the disease, which is chronic, contagious and impractical to cure. The only way to manage it is by separating sick cattle from the rest of the herd.
Team leader Mr Ramana said the LuMoo was at the prototype stage. "As part of the project, we are laying down the foundation for a product to arise from this. We have some proof of concepts for the physical kit and we are currently testing our concept in the lab. This research will be presented in Paris at the end of October."
The idea was for farmers to be able to use the detection kit on their properties instead of waiting for a lab result, he said.
"Currently, confirmation tests for Johne’s require a blood sample to be sent away to a lab. It takes up to seven days for this result to return and during these seven days really the only thing the farmers can do is manage this herd to make sure other cattle aren’t infected. What our product concept will offer is a device farmers can use on site and have the result come as a rapid test, ideally 15 minutes. You can think of it as a Covid test for cows."
The problem was two-fold, he said.
"Because of the time period it takes for results to come back, the dairy cows undergo prolonged suffering as they have the disease and it’s not confirmed yet. From an animal welfare perspective that’s a problem, but also the more body condition an animal loses while the farmer waits for the result, the less money the farmer will get when the animal is sent off to the works."
The research project arose after Mr Oakley was working on a farm over the summer and found farmers were at a stalemate while they waited for a lab result for a cow suspected of having the disease.
Talking to other farmers, the team found there was a need for quicker test results.
Farmers had since told them they wanted the product on the market as soon as possible, Mr Ramana said.
"We have read recent literature in science and adapted some of the well-known protocols, but put it towards this application which is quite new. There’s not a lot of research done in this field."
Disease-causing bacteria express a protein different from other bacteria-causing diseases.
Ms Dellow said the technology was likely to be more cost-effective for farmers and would hopefully reduce the suffering of infected animals.
"Our method is to detect the pathogen that causes Johne’s disease using an engineered protein that produces light. The appearance of a light indicates a negative result; no light means infection is present."
LuMoo was developed with sponsorship by Canterbury Grasslands, Craigmore Sustainables, Anzco Foods and the Rylib Group.
The students are the only New Zealanders attending the jamboree and hope their concept will win over the judges.
Mr Ramana said their research would be presented to about 4000 attendees from 60 countries.
"It’s been a great opportunity to think for ourselves and go through the whole process of coming up with a project that tackled a problem relevant to New Zealand. Johne’s disease affects all ruminant animals, including sheep, so we’re very hopeful that our concept will be realised and we can make a difference to farmers in New Zealand, and perhaps around the world."
The competition would open their eyes to other research being carried out internationally and might open a pathway for collaboration with other teams, he said.
A timetable had yet to be set for getting a product on the market and future teams would likely build on their work before that might happen, he said.
The students are fundraising to cover the cost of the trip and have set up a Givealittle page.
