Project description
Optimising animals for human production
From rural residents keeping backyard chickens to farmers with thousands of cattle, animal health is first priority. The EU-funded HoloFood project will use a new hologenomic approach to study the health of animals by taking into consideration their biochemical landscape and their microbiome. The project will focus on salmon and chicken, two critically important farmed animal systems. It will characterise not only their associated microorganisms’ genomes, transcriptomes and metabolomes but also how the microbiome interacts with animals’ genomes and transcriptomes within the new holo-omic framework in relation to key performance indices and animal welfare issues. This information will be used to optimise feed additives by tailoring them to the genetic background and developmental stage of the animals.
Objective
Optimising food production is not only of commercial interest for companies, but with the planet’s population approaching the nine billion mark, also of critical importance for humanity. Animal food production can be optimised by modulating animal-associated microbiomes through the use of feed additives such as prebiotics and probiotics. Previously developed feed additives have not acknowledged the specific means of action of the additives on the microbiome and host organisms, and consequently i) their performance is inconsistent across animals with different genetic background and when grown under different environments, ii) improvement of feed additives is inefficient and costly, and iii) optimal solutions are unlikely to be found without taking a more holistic approach. HoloFood showcases a holistic approach that will improve the efficiency of food production systems by deciphering the molecular and physiological processes triggered by feed additives across animals with different genetic background and grown under different environments. We will use two critically important farmed animal systems as our models -salmon and chicken- and characterise not only their associated microorganisms’ genomes, transcriptomes and metabolomes but also how the microbiome interacts with animals' genomes and transcriptomes within the new holo-omic framework in relation to key performance indices and animal welfare issues. The knowledge generated will be used to optimise feed additive administration strategies of already implemented products by tailoring them to the genetic background and developmental stage of the animals as well as production environment, to improve the quantity, quality and safety of the produced food, as well as sustainability of food production and animal welfare. HoloFood will also serve to raise awareness about the importance of microbiomes in food production, and to establish bridges between companies and academia to foster science-based strategies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3.2.3.3. - Boosting marine and maritime innovation through biotechnology
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H2020-EU.3.2.2. - Sustainable and competitive agri-food sector for a safe and healthy diet
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
IA - Innovation action
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-SFS-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.