Work within the DeMYO project was conducted via 6 work packages (WPs).
WP1comprised two in vivo experimental trials: one where the diet of 792 (half male and half female) broiler chickens was modulated through supplementation with microencapsulated sodium butyrate (Na-butyrate; 0, 150, and 300 mg Na-butyrate/kg diet) and dietary fat reduction (7.7% vs. 6.7% in the grower diet; 8.9% vs. 7.7% in the finisher diet); other was performed on 576 Ross 308 chickens housed for 42 days in 36 pens in 2 rooms of a poultry house, according to a full factorial design encompassing 2 room temperatures (standard vs. high), 2 sexes (females vs. males), and 3 dietary treatments, that is, diet C0 (control diet), diet C3, and diet C6 containing 0, 3, and 6%, respectively, of C. vulgaris biomass replacing the same quantities of soybean meal. In both trials, animal growth performances were recorded, whereas, postmortem, myopathies occurrence were recorded, the jejunum was sampled for histological analysis and caecal content to determine microbiome, and finally breast meat was collected to evaluate for quality, texture, chemical, fatty acid, amino acid and mineral composition, oxidation and sensory attributes. In the second trial, additionally, normal and P. major muscles affected with WB, WS, and SM were collected from broilers fed a control diet in both male and female animals for transcriptomic and histological analysis. All laboratory work and sample analysis were managed under WP2.
In WP3, for researcher training, the fellow receives specific training in RNA and DNA extraction, transcriptomic, bioinformatics, and NGS analysis by activity in the labs of DAFNAE and BCA. As for broiler myopathies, meat quality, and poultry production techniques, the candidate followed the teaching activities of the supervisor within the Master of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies at UNIPD, joined the University of Bologna for a 2-months secondment and the lab at Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Animal Science and Technology University Research Institute. The fellow also received training on “Big data and digital tools applied to livestock production” organized by UNIPD, “Science Communication”, “Transferrable Skills: From Research to the Market Outside Academia”, “Transfer in Sustainability: Circular Economy Approaches”, and “Social Innovation” of Arqus Pilot Training Programme “Arqus Transfer Skills”, hosted by Vilnius University.
To transfer knowledge, she conducted three seminars, two within the teaching context of the courses held for the UNIPD students of the Master/Bachelor courses of the AVM School at UNIPD and one for the students of the PhD course at UPV. She provided supervision and mentoring for early career researchers. Fellow supervised two master students and was involved in two PhD theses at DAFNAE. She was one of the tutors in the program “Precision Tools for Sustainable and Welfare-Friendly Animal Farming” organized by UNIPD (Italy), VetAgro Sup (France), Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Spain) and Université KU-Leuven (Belgium).
To ensure the maximum impact of the results dissemination activities were managed by the specific WP4. Results of this MSCA are reported in 7 journal publications: (1) published paper on dietary supplementation with Chlorella vulgaris in broiler chickens submitted to heat-stress: effects on growth performance, meat quality and myopathy occurrence; (2) published paper on the effect of dietary fat content and supplementation with sodium butyrate on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and myopathies in broiler chickens; (3) forthcoming papers on comparative transcriptome analysis of p. major muscles affected by white striping, wooden breast and spaghetti meat in male and female broilers; (4) forthcoming papers on histological findings and differences between p. major muscles affected by white striping, wooden breast and spaghetti meat in male and female broilers; (5) forthcoming papers on nutritional composition, technological quality, and sensory attributes of chicken breast meat affected by WS, WB and SM; (6) forthcoming papers on effect of Chlorella vulgaris on gene expression profiles of the small intestine, intestinal microbiota and morphology in heat stressed broiler chickens; (7) forthcoming papers on dietary supplementation with sodium butyrate: gut response at different ages and microbiota composition of female and male broiler chickens. The results from DEMyo have been presented at five international conferences: four via poster communication and four talks, of which one was recorded, and the video is available on the project website. The results from the present project have been included in one master thesis (published in 2023) and two PhD thesis (ongoing).
With WP5, DEMyo's communication strategy employed different channels, including the website (
https://demyo-project.eu/(opens in new window)) and social media, information materials, conferences, workshops, and other events relevant to the project topic to inform the public and communicate the project objectives, results, and increase the visibility of the project. The project was managed under WP6.
