Protecting Poultry from Dangerous Fungal Toxins

Revathi Shanmugasundaram is a research biologist at the Toxicology & Mycotoxin Research Unit in Athens, GA. Her research on mycotoxins in poultry feed was one of three winning entries in ARSX2023, an annual competition that seeks to accelerate agricultural research through support of high-risk, high-reward projects.

Welcome to Under the Microscope, Dr. Shanmugasundaram.

UM: What problem did you set out to address, and why is it a challenge for the poultry industry?

RS: My goal in this project was to help protect poultry from the dangers of mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are harmful metabolites produced by various fungi that grow on the cereals that make up poultry feed ingredients. Every nation faces challenges from mycotoxins. Shifting weather patterns and detrimental storage conditions exacerbate mycotoxin levels in feed ingredients, posing a serious risk to U.S. agriculture.

Corn is a major component of poultry feed, constituting up to 65% of the finished product. It is often contaminated with mycotoxins like aflatoxins, fumonisins, and deoxynivalenol. These mycotoxins can cause outbreaks of severe disease among the poultry that eat the contaminated feed, leading to a loss in production, and increasing bacterial pathogen infections.

UM: What challenges did you face in developing a solution?

RS: While FDA guidelines exist for four major mycotoxin levels in final chicken feed, the co-contamination by multiple mycotoxins complicates matters because of the potential effects of combined exposure. Synergistic mycotoxin interactions often show greater toxic effects. This co-occurrence even with minimal levels of mycotoxin-contaminated feed can be devastating.

Current strategies such as mycotoxin binders, recombinant enzymes, and microbes target individual toxins, but unfortunately don’t provide a comprehensive solution. That’s because right now, we don’t have a single approach capable of providing broad-spectrum protection. Each mycotoxin has a different chemical structure and so acts differently in how it affects the feed, so finding a single solution to multiple mycotoxins was a major challenge. Our innovative nanoparticle IgY technology can target multiple mycotoxins, thus offering a broad-spectrum solution.

UM: How did you first come up with this idea, and did you have to revise your approach along the way?

RS: The idea emerged from the need to find a sustainable and effective solution to the growing problem of mycotoxin contamination in poultry feed, particularly given the economic and health impacts. Mycotoxins are a complex challenge to the poultry industry because a single fungus can produce multiple toxins, and traditional mitigation strategies are like playing whack-a-mole: just when we think we have one mycotoxin under control, another one pops up.

This idea came from seeing how birds naturally fight against infections, which inspired us to explore how to use the same defense mechanism to mitigate multiple mycotoxins. We refined the approach through several stages. Initially, we explored different ways to produce these products and considered various methods of administration. The use of nanoparticle-based vaccines was a significant development, as it not only made the process more efficient but also aligned with the goal of improved feed safety and animal welfare. Throughout the project, we had to adapt our strategies, particularly in optimizing the dosage and ensuring that the product remained effective when incorporated into poultry feed. And of course, the funding to test the idea definitely played a significant role in collecting proof of concept. I’m always grateful for that support, particularly the ARSX award.

Chicks gather in a cage with typical feed composed of corn. (Photo by Jerry Heitschmidt, ARS Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit)

UM: What sorts of results did you see, using your approach?

RS: Our technology presents a cost-effective means of negating mycotoxin contaminants, evidenced by significant neutralization of toxins both in vitro (laboratory settings) and in animal trials. Overall, we saw meaningful improvements in production performance in animal trials.

UM: What are the benefits of your approach?

RS: Our innovative technology is economically viable, scalable, and ultimately will be accessible to farmers locally, nationally, and internationally. It provides one solution for multiple mycotoxins. This universal solution reduces the mycotoxin menace in poultry and helps to enhance food security and safety.

UM: Could this kind of solution potentially have broader applications, beyond poultry?

RS: We envision extending our technology to various additional species such as turkeys, ducks, and swine through collaboration with industrial partners, thus creating a broad-spectrum solution across multiple species. However, there are many steps involved before we can do that, in order to ensure safety and meet the applicable regulatory requirements.

UM: What are the next steps now, to build on your work?

RS: We are in the process of forming partnerships with industry to commercialize our project. The technology to scale up the solution to meet industry needs exists already. We need to adapt the technology to our solution, and this is what we are working on currently. We want to do field trials with our innovation.

UM: How easy would it be to integrate your approach into existing poultry production practices?

RS: Administering this technology is straightforward: it can be done through adding our product to water or feed, or it can even be sprayed as droplets on poultry. Supplements to poultry feed are a common approach in the poultry industry, and so we do not anticipate any hurdles in adapting this innovation to the industry. However, before any of this implementation can take place, the technology will have to receive approval from the FDA.

ARS research biologist Revathi Shanmugasundaram highlights a research finding for two graduate students in her lab. (Photo by Jerry Heitschmidt, ARS Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit)

UM: How does your project relate to and address the 2023 ARSX contest’s theme, Secure Future Food Systems Through Safe and Sustainable Agriculture?

RS: Mycotoxins are a challenge to sustainable poultry production. Mycotoxins in poultry feed ingredients not only decrease the value of poultry as a commodity, but they can predispose birds to foodborne pathogens. Our project prioritizes the health and well-being of animals, employing innovative technologies and methodologies to ensure healthy livestock are being raised under humane conditions. By preventing losses, our solution reduces waste, which is a huge challenge to sustainability. Healthy livestock also sustain the economic viability of farms and enhance the quality of farmers’ lives as we are identifying not only innovative, but cost-effective solutions that can target multiple mycotoxins in one application.

By promoting sustainable food production and by providing safe and nutritious food options, we contribute to consumers' well-being. Our initiative has significant economic implications, benefiting farmers financially and fostering a more resilient food system, ultimately benefiting billions of people worldwide.

UM: What do you think is most important for producers and the public to understand about your work?

RS: We're focused on the big picture—sustainability and food safety are our top priorities. Our goal is to build a better future for generations to come by using practices that protect our planet's health. We place a strong emphasis on food safety to make sure that every bite you take is safe for consumption. By understanding these key aspects of what we do, producers can see the benefits of adopting our methods to enhance their operations. And for consumers, it means having full confidence that the food on their table is not just safe, but also produced with care for the environment and ethical practices.