Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock, and it is a major food-producing industry worldwide. Poor development and growth, disease, morbidity and mortality of these animals are often caused by poor gut health associated with leaky gut, intestinal atrophy, infection and inflammation, particularly when the animals are young. There is a need for better solutions that can be practised to improve gut health for sustainable animal production, especially when antibiotic use in feed has been becoming more limited due to mounting public concerns. The gut is not only a digestive organ but also a chemosensory system that mediates the orchestration of physiological and metabolic responses required to maintain homeostasis in animals through cellular and molecular signaling cascades within the gut and among the gut, brain and other organs. Taste receptors including calcium sensor receptor (CaSR) are expressed in various tissues of animals, play very important roles in nutrient sensing and regulate the physiology, growth and development of the animals. The long-term goal of my research program is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of gut chemosensing and the regulation of nutrient absorption and gut health in animals under normal physiological or challenging conditions. The short term objectives of the next five year cycle are to: (1) investigate the molecular distribution and localization of porcine CaSR (pCaSR) in intestine; (2) identify the potential ligands of pCaSR and cell signaling pathways related to CaSR activation in enteroendocrine cells and potentially in enterocytes; and (3) elucidate the roles of identified pCaSR ligands on nutrient absorption and barrier functions using in vitro and in vivo approaches. The results of this seminal research will contribute to the understanding of the roles of taste receptors (e.g. CaSR) in intestinal nutrient sensing and to the development of CaSR modulators for improving absorption, barrier function and gut development during weaning or other challenging conditions in pigs. The proposed studies will lead to improving animal gut health, improving nutrient utilization efficiency, minimizing the risk of bacterial infection and reducing our dependence on antibiotics in Canadian agriculture, thereby contributing to the competiveness of the provincial and Canadian pork industry. Collectively, this hypothesis-driven research will promote to the training of 1 PhD, 2 MSc and 3 undergraduate students. My highly qualified personnel (HQP) will be exposed to a training program that emphasizes a balanced acquisition of research and professional skills, which will enhance their future career development in both academia and private industry.