Study of biologically active substances 'could lead to DEV monitoring kit'

The biologically active substances involved in DEV - the duck enteritis virus - could be monitored more closely using a kit developed through immobilised metal affinity chromatography.

In an article in the Virology Journal, a team of scientists explain how the chromatography procedure allowed them to examine the biologically active substances, which can cause duck viral enteritis.

While the first visible symptoms of the disease among a duck population can be the earliest deaths, it typically takes between three and seven days to incubate.

The study focused on a recombinant tgK protein designed using bioinformatics tools to guide expression of the full-length glycoprotein K gene in a prokaryotic system.

Typically, the expression of the gene in such a system can be difficult due to less-than-optimal exon and trans-membrane domains of the C terminal.

However, through their research, the scientists were able to successfully express DEV-tgK in a prokaryotic system, potentially allowing for the development of a serum diagnostic kit for future outbreaks of the disease.