Past Events

            Three studies were conducted. In the first study, the influence of a simulated digest of a dietary supplement on the contractile response of gastric smooth muscle to acetylcholine (Ach) was evaluated. Porcine gastric smooth muscle was collected and established in organ baths with either a simulated digest of the supplement (FA), a blank digest with no supplement (BL), or a PBS control (CO). Increasing concentrations of Ach were added and contractile force measured using an isometric force transducer.

Post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) and associated mortality in commercial swine production remain a significant challenge for antibiotic-free meat production. With the ban on antibiotic usage in livestock production, probiotics have gained a lot of attention as a potential alternative. However, strain and host specificity limit their efficacy. In this research, I tested probiotic potential of a novel Bacillus subtilis, BS9 and its impact on growth performance and gut health of weaning piglets.

The Canadian dairy goat sector has rapidly expanded in the last decade to meet increasing market demand for goat milk products. However, the productivity of Canadian dairy goats varies and increasing production efficiency is critical to the competitiveness of both individual farming operations and the sector. Genetic selection is one proven method of increasing the production efficiency of livestock populations that has been underutilized in the Canadian dairy goat sector.

The objective of this study was to determine effects of Arg supply on the expression of a se-lect set of genes related to AA metabolism, vascular function, cellular regulation of protein synthesis, and cell differentiation and turnover between the mammary and longissimus dorsi tissues. Six rumen-cannulated, lactating Holstein cows were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design with 14-d periods. Treatments were continuous abomasal infusion that supplied 0 (ARGx0), 49.2 (ARGx1), and 98.4 (ARGx2) g/d Arg in an otherwise complete AA mixture at 1054 g/d.

  Good Afternoon CGIL, We are happy to have with us Lucas Alcantara, a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph, to present a CGIL Seminar on Friday April 29th, 2022. The seminar will begin at 1:30 PM EDT/EST on the virtual platform Microsoft Teams. The title of the presentation is: "Building a machine learning model to identify text-based breeding protocol descriptions of hormonal synchronization protocols".

Yeast is a known immunomodulator utilized in animals to support gut health and improve digestibility. Its effects on the intestinal barrier and how it may impact nutrient absorption in dogs however is not well understood. This thesis sought to evaluate the effects of concentrated brewer’s yeast on gut health and nutrient status of healthy adult dogs. After 10 weeks, yeast-supplemented dogs had lower gut permeability and inflammatory marker concentrations compared to baseline and in contrast to control dogs.

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of adding fibrous ingredients to diets fed to broiler chickens or turkey poults with or without a multi-enzyme supplement (MES): 1) addition of 5 to 11% rice bran in corn-soybean diets fed to broiler chickens (Experiment 1), 2) addition of 10% corn distillers dried grains (cDDGS) or 10% wheat middlings (WM) to corn- or wheat soybean diets fed to broiler chickens, respectively (Experiment 2) and 3) addition of cDDGS or WM to corn- or wheat-soybean diets fed to turkey poults, respectively (Experiment 3).

We are happy to have with us Dr. Istvan Rajcan, a Professor at the University of Guelph, to present a CGIL Seminar on Friday April 22nd 2022. The seminar will begin at 1:30 PM EDT/EST on the virtual platform Microsoft Teams. The title of the presentation is: “Selections signatures, genetic and phenotypic diversity of Canadian soybeans through decades of breeding".

To celebrate the end of the 2021/22 academic year the department will be hosting an ABSc Spring Reception on Friday, April 22nd at 12:00pm noon. This is a great time to celebrate a long and successful academic year and to take a break and socialize with our fellow department members, enjoy the food and join the fun!