Impact of maternal and perinatal feeding of enzymatically hydrolyzed yeast cell walls on growth performance and immunocompetence in piglets and broiler chicks

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The actions taken by regulatory bodies, producers, and consumers to eliminate the use of antibiotics for growth performance are placing greater emphasis on alternative strategies for optimizing performance. Because of immature digestive and immune systems, smooth transition of neonatal piglets and chicks to production environment has huge impact on lifetime biological and economic performance. The overriding goal of this research is to investigate the utility of hydrolyzed yeast cell metabolites in integrating the dam and perinatal nutrition to enhance immunocompetence of neonatal piglets and chicks. Sows and breeders will be fed enzymatically hydrolyzed yeast cell to stimulate deposition of immunoglobulins in milk and hatching eggs, respectively. Yeast cell wall metabolites may not only enhance immunocompetence of the neonate but also favor the beneficial and specific microbiota to be transferred into the next generation. Demonstrating enhanced immunocompetence and favorable microbial succession in young animals will lead to new approaches for feeding and managing breeding animals in the context of animal protein production without preventative antibiotics. The project will employ a variety of experimental, statistical, and analytical techniques thus providing excellent training opportunities for HQP. Specifically, the research project will support training of 2 Ph.D and 2 undergraduate students, and a technician.