NIFA Awards to Tom Porter, Mohamed Salem and Eduardo Rico total $1.9M.
Three teams of UMD researchers have received $650,000 each to help farmers improve production through better selective breeding or disease mitigation. The grants are part of a $13M investment by USDA NIFA, in AFRI’s Animals Growth and Lactation Program. The program promotes innovative work in cellular, molecular, genomic and whole-animal aspects of nutrition, growth and lactation.
Professor Tom Porter received $650,000 to identify genetic markers for breeding meatier broiler chickens. The aim of Porter’s work is to help the poultry industry select chickens for breeding that are genetically advantaged to produce larger, meatier chickens. To achieve this, he and his team will build on their previous work, which showed that artificially stimulating the early production of growth hormones in chicken embryos improved chick growth rates after hatching. The grant will help the researchers investigate the genetic factors that naturally influence the production of growth hormone. By identifying genes involved in controlling growth and efficiency in broiler chickens, the research can help broiler breeders identify genetic markers for selective breeding programs and increase their success at raising larger, meatier birds more efficiently.
Associate Professor Mohamed Salem received $650,000 to assess new microbiome-based approaches to improving filet yield and quality in rainbow trout breeding programs. Salem’s earlier work showed that gut microbiome in rainbow trout could be used to predict a fish’s filet size and color. The grant will allow him to explore the genetic connection between the gut microbiome and inheritable traits that improve the marketability and total yield of the product, such as increased filet size, pink color and omega-3 content. By linking these factors, the researchers hope to determine if incorporating gut microbiome data into selective breeding programs could result in larger, higher-quality fish filets.
Assistant Professor J. Eduardo Rico received $650,000 for research into the role of ketones on metabolism, milk production and disease in dairy cows. As dairy cows begin producing milk, their bodies strive to garner all available energy resources to support the new lactation. In an effort to prioritize sugar use to make milk, cows will normally rely on ketones (alternative fuels produced by the liver) to supply energy to the rest of their bodies. This state, known as ketosis, has been associated with disease and poor productivity in dairy cows. However, it has also been associated with normal health and milk production, and it has even proven beneficial to health in other mammals. Rico and his collaborator, Dr. Julio Giordano from Cornell University, intend to address this apparent contradiction with a series of studies that fill in scientific knowledge gaps around the role of ketones and ketosis during health and disease. A clearer understanding of how and when specific metabolic conditions and cow physiology influence whether ketones have a negative or positive health effect will help farmers improve dairy cow welfare and production.
