Research Projects for 2007
ME08306-03
Stokes, M.
Improvement of silage quality and its utilization by dairy cows
Many silage additives are marketed with very little scientific evidence to support their efficacy. Effects of many additives can be determined in small-scale silos but these may not truly represent farm silo conditions. We will construct pneumatic packers for laboratory and small-scale silos to make laboratory data more representative of farm-scale ensilage. Commercial silage additives will then be evaluated to provide useful information to producers.
ME08308-02 Bayer, R.
Development of Bait Alternatives for the Lobster Industry
Crustacean baits are in short supply in New England and around the world. This project will bring soy-bean-based baits to market stage as an alternative to fish based baits.
ME08315-07 Causey, R.
Acquired immunity or innate resistance; how does the equine uterus eliminate bacteria?
Uterine infections continue to be a serious cause of infertility in horses, and were recently assessed as among the most common complaints treated by equine practitioners. Maine has a large equine industry, which is expected to grow with the advent of slot machine revenues. As a result, horse prices willl increase, but the opportunity cost of infertility will therefore also increase. It is therefore important for the Maine equine industry to improve fertility in their brood mare population, in order to keep pace with increased horse prices. Previous research has shown that Streptococcus zooepidemicus is the most commonly isolated organism from uterine infections, but represents a very diverse group of organisms. What is not yet understood is how such variation affects pathogensis of disease, or effectiveness of treatments. A critical piece of the puzzle that is still missing is an understanding of how the immune response to Streptococcus zooepidemicus influences protection against infection. Would the immune response protect against one strain or many strains? Do non-immune defenses against disease, eg mucociliary clearance, also protect against infection? The objectives of this research are designed to address these questions.
ME08319-02 Weber, J.
Effect of culture conditions on the protein expression patterns and viability of bovine embryos
It is difficult to accurately estimate the ability of a bovine embryo to establish a pregnancy, because current techniques for estimating embryo viability are inaccurate or insensitive. Using the ultra-sensitive technique of embryo I-PCR, we propose to develop a direct, sensitive technique for estimating embryo viability by directly measuring the production of viability-related compounds in individual embryos.
