**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT AIMS TO VALORIZE AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES THROUGH DEVELOPMENT OF SCALABLE ISOLATION APPROACHES OF UNDERUTILIZED HEMICELLULOSE-ENRICHED BIOREFINERY STREAMS FOR NOVEL APPLICATION AS FUNCTIONAL FEED ADDITIVES. HEMICELLULOSE-DERIVED SUGARS LIKE XYLOOLIGOSACCHARIDES (XOS) HAVE SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL AS NON-ANTIBIOTIC PROMOTERS FOR CHICKEN GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND HEALTH, WHICH ARE CURRENTLY NEEDED IN THE PREBIOTIC FEED ADDITIVES MARKET. MOREOVER, IN 2021, DEMAND FOR NON-ANTIBIOTIC ANIMAL FEED ADDITIVES IN THE U.S. WAS ~ 8 MILLION TON, WHEREAS THE SUPPLY OF XOS-LIKE FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS WAS ONLY 150 TON. THE VALUE CHAIN OF HEMICELLULOSE-DERIVED XOS PRODUCTS IS HAMPERED BY HIGH COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ENERGY CONSUMPTION FOR XOS SEPARATION AND LACK OF HIGH-QUALITY XOS FORMULATIONS WITH CONSISTENT EFFICACY IN IMPROVING CHICKEN PRODUCTIVITY. THEREFORE, OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO DEVELOP AN ECONOMICALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY VIABLE APPROACH FOR LARGE-SCALE PRODUCTION OF XOS WITH PROVEN EFFICACY FOR PROMOTING POULTRY HEALTH AND GROWTH AND STIMULATE THE UTILIZATION OF HEMICELLULOSIC SUGARS IN THE FUNCTIONAL FEED ADDITIVE INDUSTRY. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, WE PROPOSE TO 1) ENGINEER XOS PROCESS STREAMS WITH TUNABLE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION FROM AGRICULTURAL FEEDSTOCKS, 2) EVALUATE AND VALIDATE XOS FOR ENHANCED GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND PATHOGEN RESISTANCE IN BROILER CHICKENS, AND 3) DEVELOP A COST-EFFECTIVE AND SCALABLE PROCESS TO MASS-PRODUCE VALIDATED XOS FORMULATIONS. OUR PROJECT WILL ENERGIZE THE U.S. BIOPRODUCTS MANUFACTURING (FROM PULP MILLS TO AG-FIBER INDUSTRY), CREATE RESILIENT ANIMAL FEED SUPPLY CHAINS, AND IMPROVE THE NATION'S HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT. ULTIMATELY, OUR PROJECT HAS THE DUAL ADVANTAGES OF MULTIPLYING THE REVENUE STREAMS OF BIOREFINERIES AND IMPROVING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF POULTRY PRODUCTION.