Location: Animal Biosciences & Biotechnology Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-31000-108-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Sep 20, 2017
End Date: Aug 2, 2022
Objective:
Objective 1: Evaluate the mechanism of action and functional effects of short chain fatty acid (SCFA) preparations as diet supplements on gut cell-microbial interactions in broilers.
Sub-objective 1.1:Compare the effects of SCFA-supplementation on growth parameters in healthy and Eimeria-infected broiler chickens.
Sub-objective 1.2 Determine the role of short-term and long-term SCFA diet supplementation on microbiome composition and metabolite profiles in modern production, fast-growing broilers (FGB) and slow-growing (SGB), physiologically robust heritage varieties infected with Eimeria species.
Sub-objective 1.3:Evaluate the potential for SCFA supplementation to modulate the expression of genes and proteins associated with nutrient uptake in healthy and Eimeria-infected SGB and FGB lineages.
Objective 2: Assess low level gut inflammation as a model for compromised growth and nutrient efficiency, and determine the potential for selective feeding of natural anti-inflammatory constituents to replace antibiotics for growth promotion.
Sub-objective 2.1: Establish the capacity of gut inflammation and treatment with traditional antimicrobial growth promoters (AGP) to alter weight gain, feed conversion ratios, and changes in microbiome composition and metabolite profiles in broilers.
Sub-objective 2.2:Develop and implement strategies to decrease the effects of bacterial toxins on the gut through the inclusion of novel milk- or plant-derived compounds or fats and oils in the diet.
Objective 3: Assess, develop, and apply microbiome- and metagenomic-based strategies in poultry to define the role of the microflora in the regulation of nutrient uptake and utilization in the gastrointestinal tract during post-hatch development of broilers.
Sub-objective 3.1: Establish which microbial population distribution patterns are likely to associate with SGB versus FGB production phenotypes in poultry.
Sub-objective 3.2: Determine the capacity for diet supplementation with plant-derived gamma (')-and delta (d)-tocopherol-enriched mixed tocopherol oils (predominantly non-alpha-tocopherol isoforms) to modify the antioxidant environment of different segments of the gut in regard to modulating the microbiome of the broiler for improved gut integrity.
Approach:
This project’s focus is to minimize challenges to gut health that compromise growth by constraining absorption of dietary nutrients and/or and redirecting nutrient use from growth to supporting immune function and tissue repair. Understanding the host-microflora interactions that influence gut health is critical for developing strategies to increase the efficient use of ingested nutrients by broilers for meat production in the absence of antimicrobials. Objective is specific to the topic of alternatives to antimicrobials to maintain efficient growth in broiler chickens through the use of novel formulations of short chain fatty acids, essentially nutritional prebiotics, to offset deficits in growth arising from gut parasitic infection with coccidia. Objective 2 addresses one of the purported mechanisms of actions through which antimicrobial growth promoters improve feed efficiency in poultry, namely, modulating gut inflammation. The intent here is to develop nonantimicrobial, non-drug approaches such as isoforms of vitamin E other than the traditional alpha tocopherol to mitigate gut inflammation thus sparing nutrients for growth that otherwise would be used to fight the inflammation or simply be lost through a lack of intestinal absorption. Objective 3 addresses the role of the gut microflora in optimizing the efficiency of nutrient processing in the gut towards better protein deposition. A unique opportunity will be available through the direct comparison of gut microbiome populations derived from modern fast growing broilers versus those obtained from more slow-growing heritage breeds and varieties. In addition the project will be the first to assess directly the impact of the oxidation-reduction environment in the gut on population changes in the microflora.
