Alexander Bekele-Yitbarek
Scientist
Animal Nutrition, Global Innovation
DuPont Industrial Biosciences
Trillions of commensal bacteria reside in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. Collectively, their genetic material, known as the microbiome, contains over one-hundred times more genes compared to their host. Among the diverse functions of the gut microbiota are the production of energy-rich short chain fatty acids, gut morphological development, nutrient digestion, absorptions and utilization, and development/modulation of host immune system. Gut microbial composition and ecology is in constant modulation by feed and host associated responses. A disruption in this homeostasis has now been associated with various diseases in avian and mammalian species, such as swine.
There is a growing consumer driven pressure on the poultry industry to illuminate the use of antibiotics as growth promoters (AGPs), which has resulted in search for alternatives to AGPs. The diverse mechanism of host and gut microbiota interactions places direct fed microbials in a promising position as alternatives to in-feed antibiotics. Recently, DuPont introduced a cutting-edge approach on an area of animal nutrition science termed “Nutribiosis” that maps the interaction between gut and immune function, nutrition and the microbiome, bringing new insights to the industry. This will enable producers to improve animal performance, increase liveability and support welfare in the face of increasing pressure to reduce or remove antibiotics from production systems. This presentation will focus on the interaction of the gut microbiota with the host, and how nutrition modulates this interaction.