Past Events

Bones are a highly complex tissue capable of adapting to changes in muscle usage through specialized cells which respond to mus-cle strain. As such, the way in which birds utilize their wings has a direct impact on strain production of the flight muscles, and sub-sequently the keel bone to which the muscles anchor. Currently, adaptations of muscle and bone in response to a decrease in wing use is unknown in laying hens. Therefore, the first study (Chapter 2) sought to investigate if a loss of flight feathers (reduction to wing area) would reduce wing activity.

Please join us for the DECEMBER Installment of the 2021 ‘Virtual’ Nutrition Seminar Series, hosted by the Centre for Nutrition Modelling (Animal Biosciences Department). Each month in 2021 a different lab within the Nutrition group will share their exciting new research in a dynamic virtual manner.  In December we bring you:

MicroRNAs interfere with translation of mRNAs through complementary binding at the 3’ untranslat-ed region (UTR). MicroRNA-29b-3p (miR-29b) is localized to the nucleus in porcine granulosa cells, but its function is unknown. We hypothesized miR-29b binds to nuclear DNA to regulate transcrip-tion. We analyzed genes regulated by miR-29b for potential binding sites in their promoter regions. MiR-29b may bind to the promoter regions of GLUL, CDKN2B, and NR2F2, but does not regulate NR2F2 transcription. We instead identified genes miR-29b may regulate via 3’ UTR repression.

Animal robustness is essential in the poultry industry because of its consequences for animal health, wellbeing, and industry profitability. Strategies to improve animal robustness can include quantifying environmental sensitivity or direct selection for ro-bustness-related traits, however, these have come with limited success.

Greetings Animal Biosciences,    Can you believe that 2021 is almost finished? The Graduate Student Council (ABSc GSC) is BACK with the last student run EVENT of the year! A department wide SNOWMAN BUILDING COMPETITION!

Nanostring nCounter technology enables multiplexed quantification of up to 800 RNA, DNA or protein targets from a variety of samples sources. This virtual seminar will provide an overview of the technology including capabilities and range of applications. Check your email and calendar for the Zoom meeting link. Hope to see you there!  

Greetings Animal Biosciences,    Can you believe that 2021 is almost finished? The Graduate Student Council (ABSc GSC) is BACK with the last student run EVENT of the year! A department wide SNOWMAN BUILDING COMPETITION!

The nutritional value of feed ingredients varies due to the use of different raw materials and processing conditions during the produc-tion of protein ingredients. Thermal processing is central to the production of many feed ingredients. Proteins tend to be reactive and may un-dergo chemical changes during thermal processing which is collectively described as “heat damage”. Heat damage includes numerous chemical processes that may irreversibly damage amino acids or render protein more resistant to digestion. Processing of proteins at high temperatures can result in protein cross-linking.

As food and animal protein demand increases, black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal has gained interest in the past couple of years for use in animal feed as an alternative protein ingredient. Black soldier fly larvae is an attractive protein source; however, it is important to evaluate its protein quality before incorporation in feed formulation.