The researchers used small RNA sequencing to profile microRNAs in piglet saliva, a biological sample that permits repeated collection without the invasive procedures required for serum or tissue sampling. Their objective was to determine whether salivary microRNA profiles differed between suckling and weaning piglets. The observed group differences show that the transition was accompanied by measurable changes in the salivary microRNA profile.

Functional annotation of predicted target genes identified enrichment in pathways including TGF-beta, HIF-1 and AMPK signaling, as well as autophagy-related processes. These pathways are involved in stress adaptation, cellular metabolism and immune modulation. Because the analysis concerned predicted targets, the enrichment results provide biological context for the microRNA differences rather than direct measurements of pathway activity.

Several of the differentially expressed microRNAs had previously been associated with immune activity, inflammatory regulation, oxidative-stress responses and disease processes. That overlap lends biological relevance to the findings, although the study remains preliminary and does not demonstrate that individual microRNAs are specific or reliable biomarkers of weaning stress. The results support further investigation of saliva-based monitoring and targeted assays, including validation in larger cohorts and development of cost-effective assays, but no validated diagnostic test is established by the study.

Subject of Research: Exploratory analysis of salivary microRNAs associated with weaning-related physiological changes in piglets.

Article Title: Investigation of salivary microRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for weaning stress in piglets: A preliminary study

Article References: Jeong, G.-H., Park, S.-J., & Lim, K.-S. (2026). Investigation of salivary microRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for weaning stress in piglets: A preliminary study. PLOS One, 21(10), e0360727. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360727

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0360727

Keywords: piglet weaning, salivary microRNAs, small RNA sequencing, physiological stress, biomarker candidates, immune regulation, oxidative stress, autophagy, animal science, Investigation, salivary, microRNAs

The research team worked with 160 five-month-old, first-time pregnant does, each weighing around 2.84 kilograms on average. The animals were randomly divided into four groups: one received plain drinking water, while the other three received L-carnitine dissolved in their water at concentrations of 100, 200 or 300 milligrams per liter. Crucially, the supplementation began as soon as pregnancy was confirmed, roughly ten to twelve days after mating, and continued through the entire gestation and lactation periods. This design allowed the researchers to capture what they call carry-over effects, meaning benefits passed from mother to offspring through the placenta before birth and through milk afterward, rather than effects of the compound fed directly to the young.

L-carnitine is a naturally occurring molecule with a very specific job inside the body: it shuttles long-chain fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membrane so they can be burned for energy through a process called beta-oxidation. Without enough of it, cells struggle to convert fat into usable fuel. It also plays supporting roles in glucose metabolism, helping activate the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase so that sugar breakdown products can enter the energy-generating Krebs cycle, and it can spare the amino acids lysine and methionine for protein synthesis. Because fetal and newborn animals synthesize very little carnitine on their own, they depend almost entirely on what their mothers supply through the placenta and, later, through milk.

The results were striking, particularly at the highest dose. Newborn kits whose mothers received 300 milligrams of L-carnitine per liter of water showed the highest individual body weights at 21 days of age and the greatest average daily gain over the first three weeks of life, outperforming both the unsupplemented control group and the lower-dose groups. Litter sizes also trended upward in the supplemented groups, with the mid-dose group showing the largest litters at weaning age. In practical terms, the offspring of supplemented mothers were simply growing faster, a sign that energy was flowing more efficiently from mother’s milk into growing tissue.

Blood analyses of the neonates, conducted during weeks one, two and three of life, revealed what was happening beneath the surface. Serum glucose concentrations were significantly elevated in the highest-dose group across all three weeks, which the authors interpret not as a warning sign but as evidence of improved energy availability and metabolic flexibility. When growth is accelerating and thyroid activity is rising, higher circulating glucose more likely reflects better nutrient delivery and more efficient carbohydrate oxidation than any metabolic dysfunction. Cholesterol and triglyceride levels, by contrast, were largely unaffected, suggesting the compound was fine-tuning energy use without disrupting lipid handling.

Two liver enzymes, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, told an equally encouraging story. These enzymes leak into the bloodstream when liver cells are stressed or damaged, so lower levels generally indicate a healthier liver. In the highest-dose group, both enzymes dropped significantly during the later weeks of the study compared with controls. The researchers attribute this hepatoprotective effect to L-carnitine’s ability to keep mitochondrial fat burning running smoothly, preventing fat from accumulating inside liver cells and reducing the production of reactive oxygen species that can destabilize cell membranes.

Perhaps the most telling hormonal shift involved the thyroid. Triiodothyronine, or T3, the biologically active thyroid hormone that drives oxygen consumption, thermogenesis and protein synthesis, was consistently highest in the neonates of the 300-milligram group throughout all three weeks. Thyroxine, or T4, was also elevated in the higher-dose groups by the second and third weeks. Since thyroid hormones stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis and cellular energy production, their rise dovetails neatly with the faster growth observed. The authors suggest that improved mitochondrial function may have boosted the conversion of T4 into the more active T3, creating a feedback loop in which better energy metabolism and stronger endocrine signaling reinforce each other.

Not every measured parameter moved, and those null results matter too. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, remained unchanged across all groups, indicating that the supplementation did not disturb the animals’ baseline stress physiology. Malondialdehyde, a standard marker of oxidative damage to fats, also showed no significant differences, which the team reads as evidence that lipid peroxidation was already well controlled and that the enhanced energy metabolism came without oxidative costs. In other words, the metabolic boost did not come at the price of cellular wear and tear, a balance that is essential for any intervention intended to improve health rather than merely accelerate growth.

The findings fit into a growing body of research on what scientists call nutritional programming, the idea that the nutritional environment experienced in early life, even before birth, can shape metabolism, endocrine function and health trajectories later on. Most previous studies of L-carnitine in livestock focused on feeding it directly to growing animals or on its effects on the reproductive performance of breeding females. By tracking a full panel of biochemical, hormonal and oxidative markers in newborns whose mothers alone were supplemented, this study fills an important gap and suggests that the maternal supply line, from placenta to milk, is a powerful lever for shaping offspring development.

For commercial rabbit farming, an industry valued for its high reproductive efficiency and rapid production of lean protein, the practical implications are tempting. Supplementation via drinking water at 300 milligrams per liter was well tolerated, produced no adverse effects on liver integrity, stress hormones or oxidative status, and delivered heavier, faster-growing kits. The authors caution, however, that adoption should await cost-benefit analyses under real commercial conditions, and that future work should include a broader panel of antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, to fully map how maternal carnitine reshapes the antioxidant defenses of the next generation. If those results hold up, a simple addition to a mother’s water may prove to be one of the cheapest ways to give newborn animals a stronger metabolic start in life.

Subject of Research: Maternal L-carnitine supplementation during gestation and lactation and its carry-over metabolic effects on neonatal rabbits

Article Title: Carry-over influence of maternal L-carnitine during gestation and lactation on metabolic response of New Zealand neonatal rabbits

Article References: Shah, S. K. A., Khan, H., Ülger, İ., Alonaizan, R., Naz, S., Alomar, S., Tashkandi, N. A., Abudabos, A., Rossi, L., & Khan, R. U. (2026). Carry-over influence of maternal L-carnitine during gestation and lactation on metabolic response of New Zealand neonatal rabbits. Archives Animal Breeding, 69(4), 585-594. https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-69-585-2026

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.5194/aab-69-585-2026

Keywords: L-carnitine, maternal nutrition, nutritional programming, neonatal rabbits, metabolism, thyroid hormones, mitochondria, animal science, liver enzymes, oxidative stress, rabbit farming, gestation

The Murciano-Granadina is Spain’s most prominent dairy goat breed, prized for its adaptability to climates ranging from extensive Mediterranean systems to intensive management. Selection within the breed has traditionally relied on the Linear Appraisal System (LAS), a structured framework in which trained evaluators score conformation traits such as stature, chest width, body depth, rump width, rump angle, angularity, bone quality, rear legs, and mobility. In bucks, ten linear traits are scored on a nine-point scale, weighted toward structure and capacity at 50 percent, dairy structure at 20 percent, and legs and feet at 30 percent. What has remained insufficiently explored, the researchers note, is whether these dairy-oriented scores say anything meaningful about male reproductive performance.

To answer that question, the team drew on a decade of routine breeding records collected between January 2010 and December 2019 at official semen collection and genetic evaluation centers in Granada, Spain. From a registry of 6,868 routinely collected ejaculates, 1,901 samples from 77 bucks with complete LAS data were included in the analysis. The sample was nearly balanced by age — 53.25 percent of bucks were two years old or younger, and 46.75 percent were older — allowing age-stratified inference. Ten morphometric traits were evaluated alongside six semen parameters: ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, total motility, progressive motility, acrosome integrity, and endosmosis resistance, the latter assessed by the hypo-osmotic swelling test that infers plasma membrane functionality from tail coiling.

The methodological centerpiece was the fitting of cubic regression models independently for each buck, treating the resulting coefficients — intercept, linear, quadratic, and cubic terms — as derived phenotypic descriptors of each animal’s seminal trajectory. The intercept captures baseline semen quality, the linear term reflects the initial directional trend with age, the quadratic coefficient accounts for acceleration or plateauing, and the cubic term introduces inflection points that represent complex, asymmetric temporal patterns. Multicollinearity diagnostics confirmed independence among explanatory variables, with all variance inflation factors below 5. Model selection followed an information-theoretic framework using the Akaike Information Criterion corrected for small samples, the Bayesian Information Criterion, and a combined index that ranked candidates on curve-fitting success, residual sum of squares, cross-validated prediction error, adjusted R-squared, and overfitting resistance. The cubic polynomial consistently achieved the highest combined index scores across seminal quality parameters.

The results were striking. Cubic regression models explained up to 72 percent of the variance in ejaculate volume, which showed strong positive correlations with chest width (r = 0.61, p < 0.01) and rump width (r = 0.58, p < 0.01). Sperm concentration was positively associated with stature (r = 0.55, p < 0.05) and chest width (r = 0.49, p < 0.05). Motility parameters exhibited dynamic patterns, with progressive motility primarily explained by quadratic effects and total motility by cubic trends, particularly influenced by chest width and rump depth (r = 0.46 to 0.52, p < 0.05). Acrosome integrity showed strong baseline and cubic effects, while endosmosis followed a predominantly linear trend (R-squared = 0.41), consistent with a progressive, age-driven decline in sperm membrane integrity rather than a curvilinear pattern.

Regularized generalized canonical correlation analysis was then used to explore multivariate associations between the LAS-derived morphometric traits and the seminal quality curve parameters. The first canonical function explained on average 50.7 percent of the variance, and the first two functions together accounted for 83.5 percent, indicating that most of the morphology–semen signal is concentrated in the first two dimensions. Pillai’s trace indicated a statistically significant multivariate effect (V = 3.63, p = 0.031). The highest canonical loadings were observed for total motility (0.653), acrosome integrity (0.628), endosmosis (0.699), and real doses (0.565), suggesting these traits drive most of the shared variance between variable sets. Redundancy coefficients remained modest, however, meaning the morphometric variables explain only a fraction of the overall variability in semen quality — a situation the authors describe as expected in complex biological systems where multiple partially independent processes contribute to phenotypic variation.

The correlation structure itself revealed biologically interpretable patterns. Body size traits — stature, chest width, body depth, and rump width — formed a cohesive block of positive correlations, with values ranging from 0.504 to 0.833, reflecting coherent growth and proportionality. Bone quality clustered with pelvic traits and aligned positively with mobility, while angularity showed a strong negative correlation with mobility (r = –0.456), suggesting a trade-off between angular conformation and sperm motility. For ejaculate volume, the cubic term showed consistent positive correlations with linear size measures, indicating that nonlinear curvature in volume dynamics is more pronounced in larger animals. Sperm concentration trajectories aligned with larger thoracic development and angular conformation, while acrosome integrity was strongly influenced by quadratic terms that were consistently negative with size but positive with bone quality, implying that skeletal robustness may mitigate curvature associated with abnormalities.

The researchers also found that how semen variables are processed matters. Processed semen traits such as total estimated volume and total doses showed weaker associations with morphology, reflecting their technical derivation rather than biological origin. Total estimated volume exhibited a homogenization effect that obscured slope and trend dynamics, whereas total real added volume — the real doses — preserved variability and was therefore more informative. This distinction suggests that breeding programs relying on processed semen metrics may inadvertently discard biologically meaningful differences that raw measurements retain.

The study was conducted under highly standardized conditions designed to minimize confounding. All bucks were housed at official breeding, semen collection, and genetic evaluation facilities operating under the same regulatory framework and quality assurance system established by CAPRIGRAN, the entity legally recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture for managing the breed’s herdbook and genetic improvement program. When animals were transferred between facilities in 2014, standardized operating procedures for semen collection, processing, storage, and laboratory assessment were maintained without interruption, ensuring methodological continuity. The daily diet consisted of 0.5 kilograms of commercial concentrate per animal with unrestricted hay access, and fresh water and mineral blocks were provided ad libitum. The environment — a continental Mediterranean climate in the Vega de Granada with daily thermal oscillations often exceeding 20 degrees Celsius — introduced natural variability that the authors acknowledge may influence reproductive physiology.

The authors caution that the observed associations, while consistent and biologically meaningful, carry moderate effect sizes and should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis-generating rather than predictive. Hormonal concentrations were not measured, and morphometric traits were not repeatedly assessed within defined rutting cycles, so the dynamics are interpreted strictly as age-related variation rather than endocrine or seasonal mechanisms. Nevertheless, the findings highlight the potential of integrating morphometric evaluation with reproductive assessment to enhance both dairy and reproductive performance in Murciano-Granadina goats. Incorporating reproductive indicators into LAS-based selection frameworks, the researchers argue, could improve breeding efficiency and genetic progress — a proposition that, if validated by future studies incorporating endocrine and seasonal variables, would move sire selection in dairy goats beyond static visual appraisal toward a dynamic, functionally informed science.

Subject of Research: Animal Science

Article Title: From cubic semen profiles to body form: linking seminal dynamics with LAS-derived zoometrics in Murciano-Granadina bucks

Article References: Peláez Caro, M. P., Arando Arbulu, A., Delgado Bermejo, J. V., León Jurado, J. M., Fernández Álvarez, J., & Navas González, F. J. (2026). From cubic semen profiles to body form: linking seminal dynamics with LAS-derived zoometrics in Murciano-Granadina bucks. Frontiers in Animal Science, 7, Article 1738803. https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2026.1738803

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2026.1738803

Keywords: Murciano-Granadina goats, semen quality, linear appraisal, morphometrics, cubic regression, dairy goat breeding, reproductive efficiency, animal science, cubic, semen, profiles, body

The research team, led by Ayşe Gül Filik and corresponding author Gökhan Filik of the university’s Agricultural Biotechnology Department, together with Olgay Kaan Tekin, set out to answer a question that has become increasingly urgent in modern animal science: can native plant resources rich in bioactive compounds serve as effective, natural alternatives to synthetic feed additives? Consumer pressure for so-called clean label animal products, combined with rising feed costs and concerns over chemical residues, has pushed researchers worldwide to screen local flora for phytogenic additives — plant-derived compounds that might improve animal health and product quality without pharmaceutical inputs. Viburnum opulus, which grows wild across Europe, North Africa, northern Asia, and particularly in the Turkish provinces of Kayseri, Sivas, Tokat, Kırşehir, and Ankara, presented an attractive candidate because of its unusually dense phytochemical profile.

That profile is what makes the fruit scientifically compelling. Analyses of Viburnum opulus berries have revealed high concentrations of polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, carotenoids, and vitamin C. The dominant phenolic compound is chlorogenic acid, which can account for between 54 and 96 percent of the fruit’s total phenolic content and is regarded as a powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial agent. The fruit is also rich in organic acids, particularly malic and quinic acids, and contains notable concentrations of free amino acids such as aspartic and glutamic acid. Previous laboratory and pharmacological studies have linked Viburnum opulus extracts to lipid metabolism regulation, reductions in free fatty acids, cholesterol homeostasis effects, and even anticancer and antidiabetic activity, but almost none of this work had examined the plant as a direct dietary supplement in poultry. The Turkish team’s experiment was designed to fill that gap with a dose-response approach.

The trial involved 176 laying Japanese quails aged 30 weeks, a species favored in poultry nutrition research for its short generation interval and high egg production capacity. The birds — 132 females and 44 males — were randomly allocated into four dietary treatment groups, each with 11 replicate cages containing three females and one male. The cage, not the individual bird, served as the experimental unit for all performance and production measurements, a design choice that guards against pseudo-replication in statistical analysis. The control group received a standard basal diet formulated to meet quail nutritional requirements with 177 grams per kilogram of crude protein and 2800 kilocalories per kilogram of metabolizable energy. The three treatment groups received the same basal diet supplemented with Viburnum opulus fruit powder, abbreviated VOFP, at inclusion levels of 5, 10, and 15 grams per kilogram of feed. The fruit itself was harvested at full maturity from the university’s research fields, air-dried for a week, finished in a ventilated oven at 65 degrees Celsius for 48 hours, and ground through a one-millimeter sieve in an ultra-centrifuge mill to ensure homogeneous mixing. The feeding experiment ran for eight weeks under a 16:8 light-dark photoperiod with feed and water available ad libitum.

Over the 56-day trial, the researchers tracked body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio weekly, collected eggs twice daily, and subjected eggs gathered on the third day of each week to a battery of quality analyses. External parameters included egg weight, dimensions measured with digital calipers, shape index, shell thickness at three points along the shell, and breaking resistance determined with a texture analyzer. Internal quality was assessed through albumen and yolk heights, albumen and yolk indices, and the Haugh unit, the internationally recognized standard for egg interior quality. Yolk color was quantified spectrophotometrically using CIELAB parameters. Critically, the team also monitored cholesterol metabolism by analyzing yolk cholesterol concentrations at the start of the trial and during weeks two, four, six, and eight, using a spectrophotometric extraction method adapted from earlier phytogenic additive research. Data were analyzed with general linear models, and orthogonal polynomial contrasts were applied to detect dose-response relationships across the supplementation levels.

The headline finding on performance was reassuring: dietary VOFP supplementation produced no statistically significant adverse effects on body weight, body weight gain, or feed conversion ratio, indicating that the birds tolerated even the highest inclusion level well. There were, however, subtle shifts in feeding behavior. Total feed intake was highest in the 5 gram per kilogram group at 7888.0 grams, while the 15 gram per kilogram group consumed the least at 7115.6 grams, a statistically significant difference. The authors suggest this reduction at the highest dose may reflect the fruit’s acidic profile — its abundant malic and quinic acids may slightly inhibit palatability — though the free amino acids in the fruit could simultaneously support protein metabolism. Egg production itself was statistically unchanged across groups, but the 5 gram per kilogram group achieved the highest total egg weight at 1828.60 grams and produced notably more afternoon-laid eggs than the control and highest-dose groups.

The most striking results emerged in egg internal quality. Supplementation at 5 grams per kilogram significantly increased egg yolk height, which reached 13.55 millimeters, and elevated the yolk index compared with controls, both indicators of a richer, more standing yolk. Albumen weight and albumen index were also highest at this dose. Among yolk color parameters, the b* value, which reflects yellowness, peaked at 19.74 in the 10 gram per kilogram group — an attribute with real market value, since consumers associate deeper yolk color with superior eggs. Shell characteristics told a more nuanced story: shell weight decreased with supplementation, reaching its lowest value of 1.22 grams in the 5 gram per kilogram group, yet shell thickness and breaking resistance were unaffected, suggesting that mineral metabolism and structural integrity were preserved even as shell mass shifted. The Haugh unit remained statistically unchanged across all treatments.

The cholesterol results are the most tantalizing and the most cautiously framed. Across the trial, average yolk cholesterol concentrations declined numerically in all supplemented groups, but statistical significance appeared only once: in the sixth week, when cholesterol in the 15 gram per kilogram group fell to 41.04 milligrams per gram of yolk, down from 52.31 milligrams per gram in the control group. The authors interpret this as a potential time-dependent effect of the fruit powder on cholesterol metabolism, plausibly connected to the phenolic compounds that earlier cell studies have linked to lipid accumulation and fatty acid metabolism pathways. Yet they are careful to note that the specific phytochemical composition of the powder used in this trial was not characterized, so the mechanism remains hypothetical rather than confirmed. The transient nature of the effect — significant in week six but not sustained across the full eight weeks — underscores how much remains unknown about how plant bioactives interact with avian physiology over time.

What the study ultimately delivers is preliminary but valuable evidence that Viburnum opulus fruit powder is a viable, well-tolerated phytogenic feed additive for laying quails, with the low dose improving selected internal egg quality traits and the high dose showing a potential, if inconsistent, cholesterol-modulating effect. The researchers call for follow-up work incorporating phytochemical characterization, hepatic cholesterol metabolism markers, antioxidant status measurements, and gut microbiota analyses to pin down the mechanisms at play. They also point to food science findings showing that encapsulation can stabilize the fruit’s bioactive compounds, hinting at strategies to enhance and prolong its effects in feed. For a fruit long celebrated in Anatolian folk tradition and now attracting attention in pharmacology laboratories worldwide, the journey from village juice press to scientific feed supplement is still at its beginning — but these quail eggs offer an early, measurable sign that the berry’s bioactive promise may extend from human health into the food chain itself.

Subject of Research: Effects of dietary Viburnum opulus fruit powder supplementation on performance, egg quality, and yolk cholesterol in laying Japanese quails

Article Title: The effects of Viburnum opulus L. fruit powder on the performance, egg traits, and egg cholesterol of laying Japanese quails

Article References: Filik, A. G., Filik, G., & Tekin, O. K. (2026). The effects of Viburnum opulus L. fruit powder on the performance, egg traits, and egg cholesterol of laying Japanese quails. Archives Animal Breeding, 69(3), 507-515. https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-69-507-2026

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.5194/aab-69-507-2026

Keywords: Viburnum opulus, Japanese quail, phytogenic feed additive, egg quality, egg yolk cholesterol, poultry nutrition, chlorogenic acid, clean label, feed conversion ratio, Haugh unit, Anatolia, animal science

Behind the program are Phillip Myer and Jennie Ivey, both professors in the UT Department of Animal Science, who have secured a $750,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to fund the project over five years. Their central premise is that scientific training alone is insufficient. Students must also learn how knowledge moves out of the laboratory and into the field, where it influences livestock management, animal welfare and the economic viability of farms. By deliberately fusing these domains within a single fellowship, the program aims to produce graduates who can generate, translate and communicate science with equal confidence.

Recruitment will be national in scope, drawing applicants from animal science, agricultural and related life science programs across the country. Once selected, fellows will embark on a year-long sequence combining virtual and in-person experiences, each anchored in one of six focus areas: animal nutrition; livestock production, robotics and automation; livestock gene editing and genomics; animal disease, immunology and parasitism; animal welfare; or animal reproduction. These tracks reflect the scientific frontiers where animal agriculture is changing fastest, from precision feeding strategies to genome editing tools that promise healthier, more productive herds.

One of the program’s most distinctive features is its integrated mentoring model. Rather than pairing each student with a single advisor, F.U.S.E. assigns every fellow a team that includes research faculty, Extension faculty, a graduate student mentor and a county Extension agent. This structure exposes students to the full arc of agricultural science: the design of experiments, the interpretation of data and the practical challenge of delivering findings to producers, industry representatives and other stakeholders who will ultimately apply them. Mentors from different professional backgrounds will model the collaboration that modern agricultural problem-solving increasingly requires.

Myer emphasizes the broader stakes of the effort. By strengthening the pipeline of well-trained animal science professionals, he notes, the program will support not only agriculture itself but also the local communities, economies and food systems that depend on a skilled and innovative workforce. Ivey adds that the project will train undergraduates through mentored research, farm-based experiences and Extension activities that translate science into practical solutions for producers and stakeholders. Together, their vision positions the fellowship as an investment in rural resilience as much as in individual careers.

The technical training embedded in the fellowship is deliberately comprehensive. Fellows will receive hands-on instruction in experimental design, data collection and analysis, animal management, scientific writing and science communication. They will also work alongside Extension professionals during farm visits, production-site experiences and outreach programming, and will contribute to the development of Extension materials used with real audiences. The experience culminates in an intensive summer research and Extension residency in which students finalize their projects, sharpen their communication skills and engage directly with animal agriculture professionals, ensuring that no fellow completes the program without having presented and defended their work in professional settings.

Networking opportunities form another pillar of the program. Fellows will prepare scientific abstracts and presentations and will have opportunities to present their research at the American Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting, one of the field’s most important gatherings, as well as at a dedicated F.U.S.E. Animal Science Conference hosted by UTIA. These venues will connect students with scientists, Extension specialists, industry representatives and other leaders across animal agriculture, giving early-career undergraduates access to professional networks that typically take years to build. Recruitment for the first cohort is expected to begin in January 2027, with the inaugural fellows starting their experience later that year.

The F.U.S.E. award is part of a considerably larger federal commitment: an $8.8 million investment by USDA-NIFA in Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates, or REEU. That national program funds experiential learning opportunities that help undergraduates develop the technical, professional and leadership skills needed for careers in food and agriculture or for continued study in graduate and professional programs. F.U.S.E. Animal Science advances these goals by intentionally integrating research and Extension training within a single year-long fellowship, a design its creators argue is rarer than it should be in undergraduate agricultural education.

The program’s leaders bring complementary expertise to the effort. Myer’s research focuses on gut microbiology in beef cattle, with particular emphasis on the rumen microbiome and its significance for feed efficiency and nutritional physiology. He helped create rumenmicrobes.utk.edu, a public resource explaining the science of microorganisms and animal nutrition, and earned his B.S. in biology from Bradley University in 2008 and his Ph.D. in microbiology from Purdue University in 2013. He subsequently worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the USDA-ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center from 2013 to 2015, studying gut microbiome impacts on nutrition and feed efficiency in finishing beef steers, and currently serves as Director of Graduate Studies for the UT Department of Animal Science.

Ivey completed a B.S. in equine science at Rutgers University in 2009 before earning her M.S. and Ph.D. at West Virginia University, where she studied equine nutrition and exercise physiology. Her research and Extension interests center on nutritional, exercise and management interventions that improve equine well-being, along with the influence of owner knowledge on equine management. She serves on the Equine Health Advisory Commission for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Equine Affiliated Academics. Together with the broader University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, which comprises the Herbert College of Agriculture, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension, the two professors hope F.U.S.E. will become a national model for how land-grant institutions prepare students to carry agricultural science from the bench to the barn and beyond.

Subject of Research: An undergraduate fellowship integrating animal science research and Extension training at the University of Tennessee

Article Title: UTIA launches fellowship to prepare future animal science professionals

Article References: UTIA launches fellowship to prepare future animal science professionals. (n.d.). Original publication

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: animal science, undergraduate fellowship, USDA NIFA, Extension, University of Tennessee, research training, livestock, REEU, science communication, agricultural workforce, mentoring, professional development