Queensland scientists are a step closer to finding a cattle tick vaccine that could save the national beef and dairy industries approximately $175 million per annum and reduce the need for pesticides.

Using a novel science that has not been carried out anywhere else in the world, researchers have pinpointed tick vaccine antigens that will enable cattle to resist tick infestations.

The vaccine antigens produce a bovine immune response which interferes with tick attachment and feeding, reducing tick numbers by up to 60 per cent and decreases the ability of surviving ticks to lay eggs.
The project, which is being led by the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), a research Institute at the University of Queensland, recently recorded 50 to 87 per cent protection from ticks in early-phase cattle immunisation trials.

The research received a $1.4 million Queensland Government Smart State grant and project partners include the Department of Employment Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Beef Genetic Technologies, Meat & Livestock Australia and Murdoch University in Perth.

QAAFI scientist, Dr Ala Lew-Tabor, said in recent years tick infestation was reported as the ‘number one’ cattle health problem in Australia.

“Traditional means of controlling ticks, using tick pesticides called acaricides, is slowly declining due to ticks developing resistance,” Dr Lew-Tabor said.

“During our five-year research program, we’ve developed new tick research tools, generated 10 times more tick genomic data and established a specific bioinformatics capacity through Murdoch University’s Centre for Comparative Genomics.”

This research enabled the QAAFI team to identify potential genes most likely to produce positive immune responses.

Dr Ala Lew-Tabor and her DEEDI technical team fed adult ticks antibodies targeting these genes and recorded strong results in the laboratory which have been supported by the early-phase cattle immunisation trials.

Dr Heather Burrow, CEO of the Beef Genetic Technologies CRC, said that reduced productivity in the beef and dairy industries due to tick infestation is currently one of the most costly and difficult management issues and has high impacts on cattle welfare.

“This work is novel science that has not been carried out anywhere else in the world. Together with our USA and Brazilian partners, Australia stands to lead the way in safe and effective tick management,” Dr Burrow said.

The project has strong international partnerships with the US Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Services, and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and attracted international experts in the field to move to Queensland and join this leading research.

In 2007, Dr Manuel Rodriguez Valle, who was instrumental in the development of the Cuban anti-cattle tick vaccine GAVAC™, immigrated to Australia specifically to join the QAAFI research team and work on this project.

The promising early-phase trial results have clear potential for the beef and dairy industry worldwide and have caught the attention of several large animal health companies.

Dr Lew-Tabor said that while the project team had made excellent progress through the discovery and testing of these potential tick vaccine candidates, a commercial product is still several years away.

”Once potential vaccine candidates are licensed to a company to develop into a commercial vaccine, it takes approximately five to eight years to complete registration requirements for use in Australia and overseas.”