TODAY'S SWINE DIETS CONTAIN HIGH AMOUNTS OF CORN-BASED FIBER (CBF) DUE TO THE INCREASED UTILIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL CORN CO-PRODUCTS IN FEED. THIS FIBER TYPE IS POORLY UTLIZIED BY PIGS FOR ENERGY AS IT CONTRIBUTES LESS THAN 5% OF THE CALORIES IN A PIG'S DIET. IMPROVING ITS UTILIZATION IS IMPERATIVE BECAUSE MEETING THE CALORIC SPECIFCATION OF A SWINE DIET ACCOUNTS FOR MORE THAN 60% OF THE TOTAL COST OF PORK PRODUCTION. PIGS RELY ON THEIR GASTROINTESTINAL MICROBIOME TO FERMENT FIBER FOR ENERGY. IT IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD HOW CBF INFLUENCES THE METABOLISM OF GASTROINTESTINAL MICROBIOTA, AND HOW THE PIG'S UTILIZE THESE MICROBIAL METABOLITES. THIS GAP IN OUR KNOWLEDGE IS LIMITING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT IMPROVE THE UTILIZATION OF CBF IN SWINE. THE RATIONALE IS THAT ONCE WE UNDERSTAND HOW CBF IMPACTS MICROBIAL METABOLSIM AND THE ABILITY OF THE GUT TO UPTAKE MICROBIAL METABOLITES, WE WILL BE BETTER POSITIONED TO DEVELOP NOVEL SCIENCE-BASED TECHNOLOGIES TO IMPROVE ITS CONTRIBUTION TO ENERGY. WE HYPOTHESIS THAT BY UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCE OF CBF ON MICROBIAL METABOLISM AND THE PIG'S EFFICACY FOR ABSORBING AND UTILIZING SUBSEQUENT METABOLITES, WILL LEAD TO NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES AND STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE CBF FERMENTATION. OUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO OBTAIN PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE ON THE METABOLIC CAPACITY OF GASTROINTESTINAL MICROBIOTA, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS ALONG THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT TO ABSORB AND TRANSPORT MICROBIAL METABOLITES IN PIGS FED CBF. OUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE TO 1) DETERMINE THE INFLUENCE OF CBF ON MICROBIAL METABOLISM AND COMPOSITION ALONG THE GUT OF GROWING PIGS USING METAGENOMIC RECONSTRUCTION; AND 2) INVESTIGATE THE CAPACITY OF THE GUT TO ABSORB, TRANSPORT, AND UTILIZE MICROBIAL METABOLITES DERIVED FROM THE FERMENTATION OF CBF USING TARGETED TRANSCRIPTOMICS. THE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THIS RESEARCH IS A FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE FRAMEWORK FOR HOW PIGS, IN SYMBIOSIS WITH ITS MICROBIOTA, UTILIZE CBF FROM CORN CO-PRODUCTS. THE ANTICIPATED IMPACT OF THIS RESEARCH IS THAT FROM THE DERIVED KNOWLEDGE FRAMEWORK, TAILORED AND MORE EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN BE DEVELOPED TO IMPROVE THE FEEDING VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL CORN CO-PRODUCTS IN SWINE DIETS. ULTIMATELY, THIS RESEARCH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE FEED EFFICIENCY, NUTRIENT AND ENERGY UTILIZATION, AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SWINE PRODUCTION.