Talking Turkey: How CGT-Enabling Technologies Could Strengthen Future Biosecurity
Seasonal Pressures, Shared Challenges
As Thanksgiving approaches in the United States, families prepare for the rituals that anchor the holiday. This year, however, the celebration carries a familiar unease. The US and other regions around the globe are navigating renewed concerns about avian influenza in poultry flocks, prompting closer surveillance and heightened uncertainty for producers. These outbreaks highlight how vulnerable even the most established food traditions can be when confronted with fast-moving viruses.
While avian influenza is commonly framed as an agricultural issue, its implications run far deeper. The virus evolves quickly, traverses borders, and increasingly tests the limits of traditional containment practices. To the general public, the impact may appear only in the form of fluctuating prices or occasional supply worries. To those observing the broader arc of biotechnology, these disruptions signal the growing importance of scientific tools that can deepen resilience across entire food systems.
The Expanding Influence of CGT-Enabling Technologies
An interesting and consequential link is emerging between the technologies that support cell and gene therapy development and the tools needed to strengthen agricultural biosecurity. Although these technologies were designed for human therapeutic innovation, their underlying capabilities are surprisingly well-suited to the challenges facing modern livestock systems.
Rapid genomic sequencing allows scientists to follow how avian influenza evolves, supporting earlier detection and more informed responses. Gene editing platforms, which have transformed research in human therapeutics, are opening new avenues to understand and potentially influence disease resistance in birds. The flexibility of mRNA and vector-based vaccine platforms offers a scientific foundation for updating poultry vaccines much more quickly as new strains emerge. Automation and digital quality-control frameworks help scale the production of veterinary biologics with the consistency that large flocks require. Meanwhile, AI and modelling tools, originally built for clinical development and manufacturing decision, are being repurposed to predict outbreak patterns or identify early signs of risk across supply chains.
Bridging the Lab and the Farm
Translating these technologies into agricultural settings requires thoughtful adaptation. Tools developed in laboratory environments must be redesigned to work reliably in barns, hatcheries, and processing plants. Vaccine platforms need to balance scientific sophistication with practical realities such as cost, volume, and ease of administration. Digital systems must manage data from multiple environments; environmental sensors, lab results, movement logs, and farm records, to form a coherent early-warning picture. In each case, the principles that have guided progress in cell and gene therapy become stepping stones toward a new, more integrated approach to animal health.
Building Resilience in Food Systems
The ultimate purpose of this cross-sector translation is straightforward: to create agricultural systems that can anticipate, absorb, and recover from infectious threats with far greater precision and speed. Faster detection of high-risk viral strains gives farmers more time to take action. Updated vaccines that can be adjusted rapidly help protect flocks as the virus evolves. Stronger genetic and management insights contribute to longer-term resilience. Predictive digital platforms support smarter, earlier interventions. Together, these capabilities build a more stable food supply chain, one less prone to sudden shocks that disrupt livelihoods and traditions.
Introducing the Farm-to-Lab Biosecurity Flow Map
To make this emerging landscape intuitive and accessible, Lonrú has developed an interactive Farm-to-Lab Biosecurity Flow Map. It visually traces how enabling technologies originating in the cell and gene therapy ecosystem move through a translational pipeline and ultimately contribute to improved resilience on farms. The map provides a clear, structured way to explore how scientific innovation shapes everything from surveillance to vaccine development to outbreak prediction.
It also reflects Lonrú’s broader mission: to illuminate complex intersections between biotechnology, industry, and society, and to help enabling-technology companies understand where genuine opportunities exist beyond their original markets. As avian influenza continues to challenge agricultural systems in Ireland, the United States, and beyond, this perspective becomes increasingly valuable.
Explore the Interactive Flow Map Below
Click on each element of the map to see how specific technologies, translational steps, and on-farm outcomes connect to one another. The visual is designed to help you understand how innovations from the cell and gene therapy space can contribute to a more resilient approach to agricultural biosecurity.
