Reference number : GC-2017-Q4-01702, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Steele, Michael (University of Alberta), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Alberta, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Collaborative Research and Development Grants - Project, program name french : Subventions de recherche et développement coopérative - projet, program purpose english : There are one million dairy cows in Canada on over 12,000 farms which contributes $8 B to our domestic_x000D_
economy. Generally, the neonatal and pre-weaned periods are the most challenging in dairy production,_x000D_
resulting in the highest mortality and morbidity rates and diarrhea is the most common cause of calf health_x000D_
problems. In order to treat and control this diarrhea producers often rely on antibiotic therapy. The increased_x000D_
public concern about antibiotic resistance has driven animal scientists to investigate alternative nutritional_x000D_
technologies in recent years. An alternative approach to improve calf health and welfare is to provide_x000D_
non-antimicrobial feed additives such as probiotics that minimize pathogenic bacteria colonization of the_x000D_
gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Probiotics are living microorganisms that have been shown to produce no drug_x000D_
residues when directly fed to animals. One specific yeast probiotic, Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii (SB),_x000D_
has been shown to improve GIT health and intestinal microbial balance in humans and pigs but has not been_x000D_
thoroughly studied in calves. The proposed project will employ characterizing the health and gastrointestinal_x000D_
function of dairy calves in the veal production system and to see if the addition of SB can impact on health,_x000D_
gastrointestinal function, structure and microbiota. Moreover, the second aim of the proposed project will be to_x000D_
explore the colonization and viability of SB in the different regions of digestive tract of veal calves as well as_x000D_
evaluating the effects of SB. The project is expected to have a significant impact on animal health and_x000D_
production efficiency in dairy replacement and veal industry while reducing the overuse of antibiotics., program purpose french : There are one million dairy cows in Canada on over 12,000 farms which contributes $8 B to our domestic_x000D_
economy. Generally, the neonatal and pre-weaned periods are the most challenging in dairy production,_x000D_
resulting in the highest mortality and morbidity rates and diarrhea is the most common cause of calf health_x000D_
problems. In order to treat and control this diarrhea producers often rely on antibiotic therapy. The increased_x000D_
public concern about antibiotic resistance has driven animal scientists to investigate alternative nutritional_x000D_
technologies in recent years. An alternative approach to improve calf health and welfare is to provide_x000D_
non-antimicrobial feed additives such as probiotics that minimize pathogenic bacteria colonization of the_x000D_
gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Probiotics are living microorganisms that have been shown to produce no drug_x000D_
residues when directly fed to animals. One specific yeast probiotic, Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii (SB),_x000D_
has been shown to improve GIT health and intestinal microbial balance in humans and pigs but has not been_x000D_
thoroughly studied in calves. The proposed project will employ characterizing the health and gastrointestinal_x000D_
function of dairy calves in the veal production system and to see if the addition of SB can impact on health,_x000D_
gastrointestinal function, structure and microbiota. Moreover, the second aim of the proposed project will be to_x000D_
explore the colonization and viability of SB in the different regions of digestive tract of veal calves as well as_x000D_
evaluating the effects of SB. The project is expected to have a significant impact on animal health and_x000D_
production efficiency in dairy replacement and veal industry while reducing the overuse of antibiotics., agreement title english : Finding innovations to improve calf gastrointestinal health, agreement title french : Finding innovations to improve calf gastrointestinal health, agreement number : CRDPJ, agreement value : 136000.0, agreement start date : 2018-03-07, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2019-2020)., additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2019-2020)., owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada