Four U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants totaling more than $3.75 million have been awarded to poultry research projects proposed by scientists at the University of Delaware.

While all four studies relate to poultry, three are to study the genetic makeup of broiler chickens to produce leaner, healthier and disease-free chickens–the principal source of high-quality protein in the American diet.

The fourth study focuses on environmentally safe uses of livestock nutrient waste as it relates to water quality.

Joan Burnside and Robin Morgan, animal and food sciences, received $950,000 to further their development of the chicken genome, work that began at the University in 1997. To date, 8,000 DNA sequences that represent genes expressed in chicken tissue have been identified and posted to an online database that can be shared with researchers around the world.

With the new USDA funding, the researchers can identify about 35,000 additional DNA sequences. The further completion of this genome will be invaluable in uncovering many clues about chicken biology, including the mechanisms of growth and development as well as immune competence and disease resistance.

Carl Schmidt, animal and food sciences, received $200,000 to investigate how chickens respond to infection from the Marek's disease virus, a herpesvirus that causes lymphomas in susceptible chickens within weeks after infection.

He said he also wants to better understand how chickens respond to vaccination to control this disease.

Schmidt is using gene studies to see which genes are functioning during the course of the infection and in the lymphomas. He is searching, as well, for the gene or genes in the Marek's disease virus that are responsible for causing cancer.

J. Thomas Sims, plant and soil sciences, and William Saylor, animal and food sciences, were awarded $821,039 to evaluate the environmental impact of animal production. The researchers will examine the entire process of livestock production and its impact on soil and water–from animal anatomy and feed utilization to nutrient field crop applications and waste management practices.

Sims and Saylor will develop scientifically sound feeding and management strategies to enhance the profitability and sustainability of animal agriculture and, at the same time, protect soil and water quality.

This "feed-to-flock-to-field" approach to nutrient management is of particular interest to the Delmarva Peninsula broiler industry, which is concentrated in a major U.S. watershed area.

Larry Cogburn, animal and food sciences, was awarded $1.8 million to identify genes important for the regulation of growth and body composition in broiler chickens. Cogburn is looking for genes that regulate growth rate, fat deposition and muscle yeild in broilers. This grant and his research were featured in an article in the Nov. 2 issue of UpDate.

–Pat McAdams