WITH THE WORLD POPULATION PROJECTED TO REACH 9.8 BILLION BY 2050, THERE IS IMMENSE PRESSURE ON ANIMAL AGRICULTURE TO INCREASE PRODUCTION TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND FOR HIGH-QUALITY PROTEIN. BROILER CHICKENS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN WORLDWIDE MEAT PRODUCTION, AS THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST EFFICIENT FOOD SOURCES, AND SUPPORT THE LIVELIHOODS AND FOOD SECURITY OF BILLIONS OF PEOPLE. GENETIC SELECTION FOR HIGH GROWTH RATE AND ENHANCED MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT HAS MADE IMPRESSIVE PROGRESS IN TERMS OF BREAST YIELD, FEED EFFICIENCY, AND REDUCTION OF MARKET AGE; HOWEVER, THIS INCREASE HAS NOT COME WITHOUT SERIOUS NEGATIVE METABOLIC CONSEQUENCES. ADDITIONALLY, THE WARMING PLANET INTRODUCES SEVERAL KEY CHALLENGES INCLUDING LONG-TERM ISSUES RELATED TO REDISTRIBUTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND IMMEDIATE CONCERNS RELATED TO RISING MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES.IN THE CONTEXT OF POULTRY AND LIVESTOCK, HEAT STRESS (HS) IS A KEY CHALLENGE EXACERBATED BY CLIMATE CHANGE. FOR THIS REASON, WE CHOSE HS AS A MODEL STRESSOR FOR TESTING OUT THE HYPOTHESIS LAID OUT IN THE PROPOSAL DUE TO ITS RELEVANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF PRODUCTION AND WELFARE OF POULTRY. HS IN CHICKENS CAN OCCUR IN THE SUMMER MONTHS, WHEN TEMPERATURES OFTEN REACH MORE THAN 95°F (35°C) IN THE REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES WHERE MOST BROILER CHICKENS ARE RAISED FOR PRODUCTION. DESPITE THE USE OF COMBINATION OF VENTILATION AND EVAPORATIVE COOLING PADS IN BROILER HOUSES, HS STILL ALTERS BIRD'S WELFARE BY INDUCING STRESS DEPRESSING FEED INTAKE,INDUCING THIRST , CAUSING IMMUNOSUPPRESSION , REDUCING GROWTH, AND IN EXTREME CASES INCREASING MORTALITY RATE BY SPIRALING HYPERTHERMIA. HS RESULTS IN AN ESTIMATED ANNUAL ECONOMIC LOSS OF MORE THAN $128 MILLION IN THE USA AND HAS DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON FEED INTAKE, GROWTH, MEAT YIELD, WELFARE, AND MORTALITY IN MODERN BROILERS.ALTHOUGH WE CONSIDER HS AS A MODEL ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSOR TO BUILD OUR RAPID REPORTING TECHNIQUE, WE EMPHASIZE THAT BOTH THE EXPERIMENTAL AND ML-BASED ALGORITHMS WE DEVELOP ARE GENERAL AND HAVE BROAD APPLICABILITY IN A WIDE-RANGE OF DISEASES AND WELFARE-ISSUES RELEVANT TO POULTRY AND LIVESTOCK.WE WILL CARRY OUT THIS WORK WITH TWO KEY OBJECTIVES: 1) MICROSCOPY TECHNIQUES WILL BE EMPLOYED TO GENERATE LARGE DATA SETS OF CHICKEN RBCS IN LC CONTAINING BOTH HEALTHY AND HS-INFLICTED CELLS 2) ALGORITHMS WILL BE DEVELOPED CLASSIFY THE DATA SETS IN A RAPID AND AUTOMATED FASHION BETWEEN THE TWO SETS 3) VALIDATION OF THE ALGORITHM WILL BE CARRIED OUT VIA TESTING ON UNTRAINED DATA SETS.

University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR

Investigators