27 Jul 2020
Scientists will study how genetics impact on susceptibility to canine respiratory coronavirus and feline enteric coronavirus.
Vet Times
Job Title
The MASCOT project, led by Lucy Davison at the RVC, will look at two common veterinary coronaviruses.
Researchers at the RVC have been awarded a grant worth almost £200,000 by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to undertake a collaborative research project that will examine companion animal susceptibility to coronavirus infections.
The study, named MASCOT (Mapping Animal Susceptibility to Coronavirus: Outcomes and Transcriptomics), could pave the way to a greater understanding of why certain people are more susceptible to COVID-19, as well as helping to identify new treatment targets.
The project, led by Lucy Davison at the RVC, will look at two common veterinary coronaviruses.
Canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV) can contribute to kennel cough in dogs and feline enteric coronavirus can lead to FIP in cats.
Both viruses share similarities with the virus that causes COVID-19, meaning that studying these naturally occurring infections in pets could provide new insights into coronavirus biology.
This project is part of a one health approach – a perspective of health that recognises the interconnection between people, animals and the shared environment.
The MASCOT project involves an interdisciplinary team of researchers, including veterinary and medical clinicians, working alongside laboratory scientists and computational biologists.
Researchers from the RVC and the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Manchester will study genetic susceptibility to CRCoV and FIP to understand which genes are involved in severe outcomes after naturally occurring coronavirus infections.
Ultimately, this understanding will help researchers identify new targets for coronavirus-associated disease prevention or treatment.
Prof Davison, professor of veterinary clinical genetics at the RVC, said: “At the moment we do not know precisely why certain individuals are more susceptible to COVID-19 and whether this difference in susceptibility has a genetic basis.
“This project will seek to address this gap in our knowledge by studying genetic susceptibility to the common coronaviruses that are treated by veterinary clinicians and, in doing so, pave the way for a greater overall understanding of COVID-19.”
