Nutritional strategies to stimulate endogenous antimicrobial peptides in poultry: A promising alternative to antibiotics with a smart solution for saf

不断增加的抗菌素耐药性是消费者、公共卫生当局、农民和食品标准机构的全球关切。抗菌肽(AMPs)作为一种有效的非抗生素治疗禽类传染病的工具正在兴起。然而，人工合成的AMPs由于生产成本较高和产品稳定性问题，其预防性应用受到限制。通过营养调控来诱导和调节内源性AMP的表达，是应对生产可持续、有弹性和安全的家禽这一战略挑战的一种明智的解决方案。本博士项目旨在确定新型饲料添加剂(来自酵母和谷类的β-葡聚糖和低聚糖)在原位刺激宿主AMP的能力，并揭示在轻度亚临床疾病条件下，饲料添加剂的营养补充如何调控宿主AMP在肠道中的表达。这项研究的主要目标是1)优化b-葡聚糖的结构和功能，以最大限度地提高不含抗生素的日粮中肉鸡的免疫和代谢反应；2)鉴定这些宿主AMP在肠道中的作用模式，以建立一个诊断标记，以帮助促进这些新型饲料添加剂的商业应用；以及3)建立这些宿主AMP的浓度和对禽肠道中细菌、病毒和寄生虫病原体的抑制能力之间的联系。学生将在爱丁堡大学注册，并在苏格兰乡村学院(SRUC；英国爱丁堡附近)的单胃科学研究中心(MSRC)工作。活体研究将在SRUC的新的最先进的家禽研究设施进行，这是英国最大的设施，致力于通过在接近商业的条件下试验创新想法来促进世界领先的研究，以造福农业食品安全和保障、动物健康和福利、公共健康和环境影响/气候变化。该项目将与全球最大的饲料添加剂供应商之一、动物营养和技术公司AB Vista合作。该学生将与AB Vista密切合作，包括不少于12周的工业安置。在安置期间，该学生将在英国马尔伯勒AB Vista接受迈克·贝德福德博士的培训和支持。在这个网站上，学生将通过与具有一系列专业知识的全球团队成员合作，获得该行业的详细实践知识，这些专业知识包括饲料添加剂的工业生产、营养基因组学、研发、制造运营、财务管理和沟通技能(学术和非学术技能)。此外，在SRUC和爱丁堡大学，将提供个人有效性、沟通技能、网络和团队合作、研究设计、分子生物学、元基因组学(16S rRNA基因测序)、元基因组学(全鸟枪式元基因组测序)和职业管理方面的技能培训。这个项目是多学科的，结合了营养学、免疫学、分子、基因组和统计科学，以深入了解新型饲料添加剂作为抗生素替代品的效果。督导小组将在每个领域提供必要的补充专业知识，并将支持学生在每个学科内发展学术技能。农场培训、实验室技能和接触世界领先公司的经验相结合，将确保学生为在学术界或行业的职业生涯做好准备。SRUC及其相关合作伙伴组织的目标是创建一个创新、包容和协作的社区，在其中每个人都感到受到重视、尊重和支持，我们鼓励各种合格申请者的申请。

Increasing antimicrobial resistance is a global concern for consumers, public health authorities, farmers and food standard agencies. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are emerging as an effective non-antibiotic tool to combat infectious diseases in poultry. However, the prophylactic application of synthetic AMPs is limited due to their higher production cost and product stability issues. Nutritional manipulation to induce and regulate the expression of endogenous AMPs can be a smart solution to tackle the strategic challenge of producing sustainable, resilient and safe poultry. This PhD project aims to identify the ability of novel feed additives (b-glucan and oligosaccharides derived from yeast and cereal) to stimulate host AMPs in situ and to reveal how nutritional supplementation of feed additives can manipulate the expression of avian host AMPs in the gut under mild sub-clinical disease conditions. The main objectives of the study would be 1) Optimisation of b-glucan structure and function to maximise broiler immune and metabolic responses in antibiotic-free diets 2) Identification of the mode of action of these host AMP's in the gut in order to establish a diagnostic marker to aid in promoting consistency in the commercial application of these novel feed additives, and 3) Develop a link between the concentration and inhibitory abilities of these host AMPs against bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens in the avian gut.The student will be registered at the University of Edinburgh and based at Monogastric Science Research Center (MSRC) of Scotland's Rural College (SRUC; near Edinburgh, UK). In vivo studies will be conducted at the SRUC's new state of art poultry research facility, which is the UK's largest facility dedicated to fostering world-leading research to benefit agricultural food safety and security, animal health and welfare, public health, and environmental impact/climate change by trialling innovative ideas under near-commercial conditions. The project will partner with AB Vista, an animal nutrition and technology company that is one of the largest feed additives suppliers globally. The student will work very closely with AB Vista, including an industrial placement of no less than 12 weeks. During placement, the student will be trained and supported by Dr Mike Bedford at AB Vista, Marlborough, UK. At this site, the student will obtain detailed practical knowledge of the sector by working with global team members with a range of expertise, including industrial production of feed additives, nutrigenomics, R&D development, manufacturing operations, financial management and communication skills (both academic and non-academic). Additionally, at SRUC and University of Edinburgh, skills training will be provided in personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and team working, study design, molecular biology, metataxonomics (16S rRNA gene sequencing), metagenomics (whole shotgun metagenomic sequencing) and career management. This project is multidisciplinary and combines nutritional, immunology, molecular, genomic and statistical science to provide insight into the effect of novel feed additives as an alternative to antibiotics. The supervisory team brings the necessary complementary expertise in each of these fields and will support the student in developing academic skills within each discipline. The combination of on-farm training, lab skills, and exposure to world-leading companies will ensure that the student is well prepared for a career in academia or industry.SRUC and its associated partner organisations aim to create a community that is innovative, inclusive and collaborative, in which everyone feels valued, respected, and supported, and we encourage applications from a diverse range of qualified applicants.