National Avian Research Facility
National Avian Research Facility

Avian Resources

The NARF maintains a number of poultry lines that are held in our conventional and specified pathogen free (SPF) facilities.

  • The NARF has genome engineering technologies for the chicken, and maintains a large number of genetically altered chicken lines, chicken lines with specific genetic variants and with well-characterised genomes.
  • Poultry lines available include commercially relevant layer and broiler breeds and Japanese quail.
  • Our SPF unit has nine inbred white Leghorn lines and two closed outbred lines, that vary in their major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotypes.

Genetically altered lines

The NARF has gene editing facilities for the chicken, a variety of ubiquitous and gene-specific reporter lines.

Poultry lines

Chicken
The NARF has a number of poultry lines available including layer and broiler breeds and Japanese quail.

Specified Pathogen Free Facility

Gene-edited chickens that don't lay own eggs
The NARF has a custom built facility that houses poultry under specified pathogen free (SPF) status.