New standards for microbiome studies [14.02.23]
Uniform standards are needed to pursue the goal of meaningful, reproducible, and application-driven research. However, research into the complex interplay of microorganisms in the digestive tract of farm animals is still lacking. Taking the pig as the example, the "LiMBiom-S" project aims to remedy this. Jun. Prof. Dr. Amélia Camarinha da Silva from the Department of Livestock Microbial Ecology at the University of Hohenheim is the project coordinator. The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is funding the project to the tune of almost EUR 1 million in total, just over half for the University of Hohenheim.
The numerous microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract of animals play an important role in their health and performance. Despite rapid progress in the elucidation of what is referred to as the microbiome over the last decade, uniform standards are lacking. This leads to numerous disadvantages. For example, it is often difficult to compare the results from different studies.
The LiMBiom-S project aims to establish, for the first time, a standardized working protocol and open-source recommendations for microbiome research on farm animals using the example of pigs. Together with standardized documentation guidelines, this should make it possible to compare data and results from different laboratories, generate statistics and, by extension, to arrive more quickly at conclusions on their practical application.
To this end, the researchers initially plan to analyze approximately 650 pig microbiome studies that have already been conducted. The goal is to identify the most important methods from sampling to bioinformatics analyses that are currently in use. Based on this, they want to create a template for collecting and structuring data. In the future, it should facilitate the standardized, accurate, and comparable collection of animal data and data of relevance for experiments such as feeding, housing conditions, etc.
In a pilot study, the researchers also plan to compare the different approaches used to characterize and analyze the microbiome and compile their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, a ring trial will be carried out at six sites to test the reproducibility, transparency, and added value of a standardized protocol.
All these data are to result in standards and recommendations for future microbiome research based on the ground rules of good scientific practice. In this way, LiMBiom-S will ultimately contribute to animal welfare, farm animal health and performance, and sustainable livestock production.
Project details
- Title: Methodological standards for meaningful, reproducible, and application-driven microbiome research in livestock (LiMBiomS)
- Funding amount: EUR 972,520, including EUR 535,537 for the University of Hohenheim
- Funding institution: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)
- Project duration: 1 March 2023-28 February 2026
- Project participants: Prof. Dr. Amélia Camarinha da Silva (University of Hohenheim, coordination), Freie Universität Berlin, Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel), Technical University of Munich, the University of Göttingen, Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) Dummerstorf
Contact
Jun. Prof. Dr. Amélia Camarinha da Silva, University of Hohenheim, Department of Livestock Microbial Ecology, Hohenheim Center for Livestock Microbiome Research (HoLMiR), +49 711 459-23064, amelia.silva@uni-hohenheim.de
Heavyweights of research
The series “Heavyweights of Research" presents outstanding research projects with a financial volume of at least 350,000 euros for research requiring equipment or 150,000 euros for research without specialized equipment.
