Project Summary
Phosphorus is a key nutrient for poultry: undersupply leads to impaired skeletal development but oversupply contributes to environmental pollution. A second layer of complexity comes from variation in form of phosphorus. Plant materials contain phosphorus as phytate: a form that birds cannot use. Therefore, the bird must be aided in breaking down the phytate into usable phosphorus by addition of an enzyme; phytase; into poultry feed. While the poultry sector are keen to decrease dietary inclusion of mineral phosphates in favour of phytases, current poultry diets commonly supply excess phosphorus (leading to increased phosphorus pollution) as we are uncertain as to how much phytase may be impaired by other trace minerals supplied in the diet. We are currently supporting examining the impact of dietary mineral source on phytase activity/P availability. A key question is what happens when phytase and trace minerals are stored together before feeding to poultry. Trace minerals can be provided in a variety of forms: for example as a simple mineral salt, or chelated to an amino acid to increase their digestibility. It is possible that chelated forms may also protect phytase from degradation by aggressive mineral components during storage. Therefore we are conducting a long term storage trial where the efficacy of a phytase/chelated mineral premix is compared to a phytase/mineral premix based on sulphate mineral forms. This summer project will involve conducting a poultry feeding trial using the previously stored premixes, before assessing the digestibility and tissue uptake of the premix minerals.
Project Details
Phosphorus is a key nutrient for poultry: undersupply leads to impaired skeletal development but oversupply contributes to environmental pollution. A second layer of complexity comes from variation in form of phosphorus. Plant materials contain phosphorus as phytate: a form that birds cannot use. Therefore, the bird must be aided in breaking down the phytate into usable phosphorus by addition of an enzyme; phytase; into poultry feed. While the poultry sector are keen to decrease dietary inclusion of mineral phosphates in favour of phytases, current poultry diets commonly supply excess phosphorus (leading to increased phosphorus pollution) as we are uncertain as to how much phytase may be impaired by other trace minerals supplied in the diet.
We are currently supporting examining the impact of dietary mineral source on phytase activity/P availability. A key question is what happens when phytase and trace minerals are stored together before feeding to poultry. Trace minerals can be provided in a variety of forms: for example as a simple mineral salt, or chelated to an amino acid to increase their digestibility. It is possible that chelated forms may also protect phytase from degradation by aggressive mineral components during storage.
Therefore we are conducting a long term storage trial where the efficacy of a phytase/chelated mineral premix is compared to a phytase/mineral premix based on sulphate mineral forms. This summer project will involve conducting a poultry feeding trial using the previously stored premixes, before assessing the digestibility and tissue uptake of the premix minerals. Assessment parameters for the study include trace mineral concentration in blood, tibia and liver, tibial bone strength, calcium and phosphorus content, peroxidation markers in pectoral muscle, circulating serum IgA levels and quantification of digestible Mn, Se, Fe, Zn, Cu, P, Ca in ileal digesta content via use of titanium dioxide as an inert marker.
Alltech have a long history of supporting post graduate research and sponsored the first ever BBSRC CASE studentship undertaken at Nottingham Trent University. Our storage trial is the final investigation of the PhD, and the summer studentship offers the opportunity to take ownership of one of the 4 feeding trials and related tissue assessments that forms the full investigation. All the analytical techniques required are well established methods in our lab, which our bench supervisor will have conducted once through already, leaving them well placed to develop their supervisory skills by supporting a summer student through the same processes.
The bird trial will be three weeks in duration, allowing the summer student to establish themselves within the research group and develop their skills in the required techniques before beginning to work on post mortem tissues derived from the bird trial for the remaining weeks. The bird trial itself will generate data requiring statistical analysis, so training in data analysis models required for the trial design can be given early in the project, in parallel to lab work so the summer student has the skills in place to complete data analysis on tissue parameters toward the end of the placement.