Location: Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center
Project Number: 6020-21500-001-014-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 15, 2023
End Date: Jul 14, 2025
Objective:
To investigate the effect of daily supplementation of cranberry vine pellets (CVP) and sericea lespedeza (SL) on overall sheep health and performance. Resulting data will provide farmers with a cost-effective, eco-friendly means to help reduce, if not prevent, the incidence of disease in their herd. This project will contribute to efforts to make livestock production safer and more sustainable.
Approach:
Research will generate data on the potential immunomodulatory and anthelmintic activities of cranberry vine pellets (CVP) and sericea lespedeza (SL) in sheep.
Naturally or artificially infected weaned lambs (n = 30) will be randomly assigned to receive 600 g/day of alfalfa pellet (control), CVP, or SLP (n=10/group) between Days 0 and 56. A grain supplement will balance protein and energy among the diets. Blood (for packed cell volume using microhematocrit method) and fecal samples (to determine fecal egg counts) will be collected, and FAMACHA, body weight and condition will be determined every 7 days. The study will 1) investigate the effect of daily supplementation of CVP and SL on parasite infection. Fecal samples will be collected directly from the rectum using lubricant and placed in labeled bags. Fecal egg and oocyst counts will be determined using a modified McMaster technique; 2) investigate the effect of daily supplementation of CVP and SL on systemic innate immune response activation. Blood will be collected on days 0, 28, and 56 for serum (stored at -80°C) to measure inflammatory cytokine concentrations, and RNA isolation from blood cells for gene profiling of toll-like receptor pathway and cytokine genes; 3) examine fecal microbial DNA and relative abundance of Bifidobacteria spp. and Lactobacillus spp. Statistical analyses: weekly measures will be analyzed using a mixed procedure in SAS with repeated measures and the model will include treatment, week, and interactions. Real-time PCR data will be analyzed using Livak's method. The housekeeping genes and samples from control lambs will be used to determine changes in gene expression and RNA transcript abundance.
