Knowing how these processes work and how they impact animal energy and protein expenditures can guide further improvements of available and future commercial products. Exciting research opportunities are discussed in this book, examining different characteristics of DFMs that are fed to animals to meet different production demands in different production scenarios (e.g., beef versus dairy versus swine versusfin fish). The advent of molecular and next-generation sequencing offers methods of developing tailored DFMs, and of early detection of successful DFM establishment in the gut. These techniques will further deepen our insight into understanding the microbial population of the gut and how these populations impact animal health, food safety, and sustainability of animal-derived protein production.
Dr. Todd R. Callaway received his B.S. Agriculture degree in Animal Health and Animal and Dairy Sciences, as well as his M.S. in Animal and Dairy Sciences from the University of Georgia. He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Cornell University, with minors in Biochemistry and Animal Science. Dr. Callaway is a Research Microbiologist for the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and has served as a Science Fellow for the Foreign Agriculture Service and the U.S. State Department. He has adjunct faculty appointments in the Department of Agriculture at Angelo State University, the Animal and Dairy Sciences Department at Mississippi State University, and the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University. Dr. Callaway has a research program focused on manipulating the microbial ecology of the animal gastrointestinal tract to reduce populations of foodborne pathogenic bacteria in food animals before they enter the food chain.
Dr. Steven C. Ricke received his B.S. degree in Animal Science and M.S. degree in Ruminant Nutrition from the University of Illinois and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin with a co-major in Animal Science and Bacteriology. He is currently holder of the Donald “Buddy” Wray Endowed Chair in Food Safety and Director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Arkansas. He is also a faculty member of the Department of Food Science, the Department of Poultry Science and the Cellular and Molecular Graduate program. Dr. Ricke’s research program is primarily focused on virulence and pathogenic characteristics of foodborne salmonellae.