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Animal Functional Nutrition Lab
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The lab investigates the microorganisms in the digestive tracts of cattle and sheep and how the digestive tract functions.
AboutAbout the lab
A scientific look inside the animal gut
The Animal Functional Nutrition Lab studies how feed is digested and absorbed, with the aim of drawing out the full natural potential of livestock.
Working mainly with herbivorous livestock such as cattle and sheep, the lab examines which symbiotic microorganisms are involved in digesting feed, and how the digestive tract develops and maintains its function.
Because students raise sheep and mice themselves and handle everything from sampling to analysis, they encounter biological phenomena at a wide range of levels: whole animal, cell, and molecule.
A strength of the lab is that feed, digestive tract function, and symbiotic microorganisms can all be studied together in one lab.
Key terms
- Symbiotic microorganisms
- Bacteria and other microorganisms that live inside an animal's body and coexist with the host, helping it by digesting feed and in other ways
- Rumen (first stomach)
- The first of the four stomachs of animals such as cattle and sheep, where microorganisms break down plant fibers
- Functional feed
- Livestock feed designed not only to provide nutrition but also to serve other functions, such as improving the environment in the gut
ResearchResearch themes
The lab's goal is to contribute to producing healthy animals in harmony with the environment. It aims to clarify the roles of the symbiotic microorganisms living in the digestive tract and the mechanisms by which the tract functions properly, and to develop feeds that draw out these abilities effectively.
*Illustrative imageFunctional Feeds for the Environment and Health
The lab develops functional feeds and foods that make use of unused resources such as agricultural by-products. By improving the environment in the digestive tract, these are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase beneficial gut bacteria.
*Illustrative imageExploring the Symbiotic Microorganisms in the Gut
The symbiotic microorganisms in an animal's digestive tract form a complex ecosystem known as a microcosm. The lab aims to identify the key microorganisms that are deeply involved in the host's nutrition and health, and eventually to control them skillfully.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment of Digestive Function in Cattle
Between birth and weaning, calves acquire the capabilities of herbivores through changes in rumen bacteria and in the digestive tract. The lab studies how the rumen develops and the accompanying changes in nutrient metabolism and immunity.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Animal Functional Nutrition Lab are faculty, postdoctoral researchers, technical assistants, and master's and undergraduate students.
- ProfessorSatoshi Koike
- Assistant ProfessorHiroto Miura
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Holstein Friesian cows strip-grazing a turnip field - geograph.org.uk - 5284652” Evelyn Simak / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Functional Feeds for the Environment and Health: “PikiWiki Israel 2141 Cows in a kibbutz Israel פרה ברפת” אילנה שקולניק ilana shkolnik / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
- Exploring the Symbiotic Microorganisms in the Gut: “15232 lores” CDC/ Dr. Holdeman / CC0 (cropped)
- Development of Digestive Function in Cattle: “HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN CALF” Ranjithkumar Murugesan / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Livestock Production Systems Lab): “NRCSWI00094 - Wisconsin (6833)(NRCS Photo Gallery)” Photo by Bob Nichols, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Genetics and Reproduction Lab): “Bovine Blastocyst” Pandal00m / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cell and Tissue Biology Lab): “Prosciutto di Parma, Tagliere, Italia” Luca Dea / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Applied Food Science Lab): “Cheeses 1 - Wellington, New Zealand” Daderot / CC0 (cropped)
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