Animal Science Researchers Receive $2.48 Million in USDA Grants Aimed At Improving Disease Resiliency and Animal Welfare in Swine Industry
Four faculty members in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were recently awarded research grants totaling $2.48 million from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA).
Nebraska duo eyes end to costly swine diseases
Two University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers have received $1 million in grant funding to continue research that could lead to the development of vaccines and genetic-selection tools to fight some of the world’s costliest swine diseases.
Sleuthing piglet tremors
Pig farmers can do everything the right way, and still have their herd succumb to some production or life-threatening virus or bacteria. Such problems started to arise at a research farm with high-health status and a comprehensive vaccination program, and that was naïve for other important pathogens. Cases of congenital tremor were starting to be observed in August 2017.
Husker research brings swine industry closer to broad virus protection
After eight years of gathering data from more than 1,000 pigs infected with porcine circovirus 2, University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers have identified the gene associated with pigs’ susceptibility to the deadly swine disease.
Solving the 2.8 billion base pair puzzle of PCV2
Unraveling the host genetic factors involved in disease resistance or rather disease tolerance is not only daunting, but deemed by some as a nearly impossible task. Despite being a trait of moderate heritability, it is exceptionally complex, polygenic and highly susceptible to environmental influences, making circumstances of natural infection difficult to replicate experimentally.
New report highlights pig fertility research by Ciobanu
Lincoln, Neb. — Eleven research universities, including the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, are calling for stronger federal support of the food and agricultural sciences through a new report, Retaking the Field—Strengthening the Science of Farm and Food Production. The report explores projects funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) at each institution, including research from Daniel Ciobanu, associate professor in the Department of Animal Science.
