A VIRUS found in chickens has led researchers at University of Edinburgh to find a gene that could save millions of birds from Marek’s disease and could potentially help scientists find a cure for cancers caused by viruses.

After studying thousands of genes scientists from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute have identified a gene called HIC1 that makes chickens more susceptible to Marek’s disease, a viral infection that causes the poultry industry to lose more than £1.4 billion each year.

This gene controls cell death and ‘switches on’ genes with anti-tumour effects, so when viruses such as Marek’s disease ‘switch off’ the genes controlled by the HIC1 gene it can lead to cancerous tumours. The HIC1 gene is also found in humans, so the discovery of a gene that can have anti-tumour effects is very important in the battle against cancer.

The identification of this gene means not only that scientists are on their way to saving the poultry industry billions in losses from Marek’s disease but also the study can help to find a cure for virus-caused cancers in humans, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma, which affects patients with HIV.

The research was published in the Journal of Virology and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council which also funds research into stem cell biology, brain function nad nanotechnology. University of Edinburgh professor Pete Kaiser, who led the research, explained how useful their findings were to industry.

He said, “Marek’s disease is highly contagious and chickens are becoming increasingly resistant to vaccination.

“Identifying a gene that increases the risk of Marek’s disease could help us breed chickens that are less susceptible to infection.

“Also, learning about how chickens affected by Marek’s disease fail to combat the onset of tumours will help us learn more about how certain viruses can trigger cancer in humans.”