RUMIC · Prebiotic Functional Enhancement of Rumen Microbiomes
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2019-05-01 → 2023-03-31
- EU contribution
- €251,435
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Prebiotic Functional Enhancement of Rumen Microbiomes
The research project entitled RUMIC: Prebiotic Functional Enhancements of Rumen Microbiomes investigates how prebiotics act upon the rumen microbiome of food-producing animals to determine how we can use prebiotics to address the world's growing demand for sustainable food production. In recent years research has shown that the microbiome - the community of microorganisms in animal and human digestive systems - is an integral component of animal health and production. Yet, our investigation of animal microbiomes and how they are affected by diet and supplements is still in its infancy. To move towards a greener economy, we must rethink our livestock production to include microbiomes and focus on sustainable and secure food production. One approach is the application of prebiotics, “a substrate that is selectively used by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit” (Gibson 2018). Prebiotics function by modulating an animal’s microbiome towards improved food digestion and increase milk and meat production. They can also confer added health benefits such as antipathogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, prebiotics can be sourced from agricultural residues or sustainable sources such as seaweeds, adding economic value to agricultural waste streams. Prebiotics are a promising tool to sustainably increase animal health, performance, and productivity. The RUMIC project aims to investigate how prebiotics affect rumen microbiomes and their function in animals, to provide evidence-based research tools to study the direct effect of prebiotics and help address the worlds growing demand for food production.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Dr. Greta Reintjes proposes to work with Dr. Wade Abbott at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to investigate the Prebiotic Functional Enhancement of Rumen Microbiomes (RUMIC). Ruminates, specifically cattle and sheep, are significant contributors to food production systems worldwide, with the EU alone producing 7 million tons of beef per year. This major agricultural sector faces significant economic obstacles due to increasing food safety and public health concerns over antimicrobial use in livestock. RUMIC aims at addressing these concerns by investigating the promising strategy of prebiotic application in livestock production systems for improved animal health and production. Prebiotics function by modulating the gut microbiome of ruminants towards improved metabolism of feeds, competitive exclusion or mitigation of pathogens, and enhanced overall animal health. RUMIC will employ novel methods in, molecular ecology, analytical chemistry, bioinformatics and super-resolution and live-cell imaging to i) visualise and quantify the uptake of prebiotics by rumen isolates, ii) to culture-independently analyse the effect of prebiotics on simplified artificial rumens, and iii) to isolate and characterise microorganisms with specific carbohydrate degrading potentials to discover novel metabolic pathways and enzymes, with the overall goal of providing evidence-based solutions for rumen microbiome enhancements. RUMIC will facilitate a mutually beneficial, interdisciplinary exchange of scientific skills and knowledge between two leading research institutes in Canada and Germany. Furthermore, it will provide a unique research platform for Dr. Reintjes, an early career researcher, to pursue an independent research project, enabling the acquisition of new knowledge, improved communication skills, establishment of new collaborations, and widening her career perspectives to the academic and industrial sector.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
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Data: CORDIS, © European Union