- Research collaboration launched: In early 2024, Barnwell Bio established a collaboration with leading poultry health expert Dr. Steven Ricke at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
- What we have learned so far: The microbial community present in poultry litter varies significantly as a function of distance from feeders.
- We have shared this information with the broader scientific community: UW Master’s student Maxim Peckenschneider presented a poster on our chicken litter results at the 2024 International Production and Processing Expo conference
Early in Barnwell’s journey, we sought out poultry health experts to partner with who could serve as advisors and collaborate with us on foundational studies as we worked to develop our biosurveillance platform. One of those poultry health experts was Dr. Steven Ricke at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
In our first foundational study with Dr. Ricke’s laboratory, we set out to examine how the litter microbiome varies across a research pen. We took litter grabs from different spots within the pen and cultured for bacteria. What we found is that there were significantly more aerobic bacteria as you moved away from the feeder. In addition, we found that Enterobacteriaceae were moderately less abundant with the distance from the roosting area. It is not clear yet what explains these trends, but this work demonstrates that the microbiome can vary by location in litter, even in a small (roughly 5’ x 12’) pen environment and this warrants more investigation. Next steps on this work include a deeper investigation into the specific microbes that are driving this variation via 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and possibly a future repeat of this study type in a larger commercial barn setting. Of particular interest will be to look at whether or not pathogen abundance varies by location in the barn.
In summary, our collaboration with Dr. Ricke at the University of Wisconsin has already provided some key early insights into the complexity of the microbial environment that surrounds every flock. By utilizing environmental sampling and shotgun metagenomic sequencing Barnwell Bio is working to develop the most comprehensive biosurveillance platform available for whole health monitoring. Future research will allow us to identify subtle shifts in the microbiome that may indicate incipient pathogen outbreaks or identify gaps in nutritional health that can be remedied with precise nutritional additives, leading to healthier, more productive birds. Reach out if you’d like to learn more.
