Enhancing functional intestinal development for improved growth and efficiency in poultry

营养学家认为，功能失调的胃肠道是家禽生存和生产力的潜在限制因素。根据遗传改良的进展和限制使用促进生长的抗微生物药物(AGP)和抗球虫药物，出现了关于消化道的发育和功能的想法，从而促进了这种看法。一个有功能的肠道是许多生理和微生物参数在复杂的相互作用中状态的结果，导致严格控制的粘膜免疫平衡。孵化后不久，肠道组织的高代谢率和细胞周转导致饲料营养物质的大量首次利用，特别是氨基酸，以维持肠道功能。谨慎地预计，用不含AGP的饲料饲养的家禽将经历更高的肠道健康问题发生率和长期的免疫学挑战。炎症和免疫反应对营养物质新陈代谢的后果可能会损害营养物质对身体蛋白质积累、生长和所有其他代谢过程的可用性。我的研究计划的长期目标是通过整合母体、受精卵和孵化后早期的营养策略来支持从胚胎到孵化后早期的持续肠道发育，以优化营养物质的利用，从而提高家禽的生产力和减少抗生素的使用，从而揭示调节家禽肠道功能和健康的因素和过程。这项建议的具体目的是研究调节适应性消化和吸收反应的机制及其与生长和发育的关系，以促进有效的不含抗生素的起始日粮的设计，特别是在肠道病原体可能危及高效生产的条件下。该提案将利用我在肠道病原体挑战模型方面的经验来研究营养和肠道健康之间的相互作用。通过表征肠道营养的使用，将发现影响体内平衡的营养素的数量，包括水平和与其他营养素的相互作用，以及给药的时间。这些知识将是开发初级日粮的关键，以便为肠道提供更好的营养利用和程序新陈代谢，最终影响生产效率、屠体组成和肉类质量。这项研究将涉及使用动物营养学的先进技术和尖端研究技术和仪器，如基因组测序仪、先进显微镜、等位体示踪剂)。了解如何熟练地使用这些技术来提高饲料效率是学术界和工业界高度关注的问题，对于在研究计划中培训的HQP的科学生涯的进一步发展将非常有用。

Nutritionists perceive dysfunctional gastrointestinal tract as a potential rate-limiting factor in the survival and productivity of poultry. This perception has been fostered by the emergence of ideas concerning the development and function of the digestive tract in the light of advances in genetic improvement and restriction on the use of growth promoting antimicrobials (AGP) and anticoccidial drugs. A functional gut is the result of the status of many physiological and microbiological parameters in a complex interplay leading to a tightly controlled mucosal immune balance. The high metabolic rate and cellular turnover of gut tissues in the immediate period post-hatch result in substantial first-pass utilization of dietary nutrients, especially amino acids, to maintain gut function. It is prudent to expect that poultry raised on feeds without AGP will experience higher incidences of intestinal health problems and prolonged period of immunological challenges. The consequences of the inflammatory and immune responses on nutrients metabolism could impair the availability of nutrients for body protein accretion, growth and all other metabolic processes. The long-term goal of my research program is to unravel factors and processes that regulate intestinal function and health in poultry by integrating maternal, in-ovo and early post-hatch nutrition strategies to support continuous gut development at embryonic through to early post-hatch period to optimize nutrients utilization for enhanced poultry productivity and reduced antibiotic use. The specific aim of the this proposal is to study mechanisms mediating adaptive digestive and absorptive responses and how they relate to growth and development to facilitate design of effective antibiotic free starter diets, particularly in conditions where enteric pathogens may otherwise compromise efficient production. The proposal will capitalize on my experiences with enteric pathogen challenge models to study the interactions between nutrition and gut health. By characterizing intestinal nutrient usage, amounts of nutrients that affect homeostatic balance will be discovered in the form of levels and interactions with other nutrients, and the timing of administration. This knowledge will be pivotal in developing starter diets to “condition” the gut for better nutrient utilization and program metabolism that ultimately affects production efficiency, carcass composition, and meat quality. The research will involve the use of advanced techniques in animal nutrition and cutting edge research techniques and instrumentation such as genomic sequencer, advanced microscopy, isopote tracers). Comprehending skillful use of these techniques to enhance feed efficiency is of high interest in both academic and industrial settings and will be very useful in furthering scientific careers of the HQP trained in the research program.