The Ruminant Nutrition and Gut Microbiology Lab is housed in the Department of Animal and Dairy Science at the University of Georgia. The lab focuses on unravelling the microbial ecology of the gut in food animals, with an emphasis on how the ruminal and intestinal microbial populations affect animal nutrition, host productivity, food safety, antimicrobial resistance transfer, and production efficiency.
Why the microbiome matters
The gastrointestinal microbiome is one of the most important drivers of:
- Animal nutrition
- Feed efficiency
- Animal health and welfare
- Food safety
- Production sustainability
- Farm profitability
By understanding how the microbiome responds to diet, feed additives, environmental conditions, microbial physiology, and management practices, we identify strategies that improve livestock performance while reducing foodborne pathogens.
Research focus
The lab’s research connects ruminant nutrition, microbial ecology, and applied cattle production. A major goal is to understand how manipulation of ruminal and intestinal microbes can improve profitability on the farm while also reducing foodborne pathogenic bacterial populations in food animals prior to slaughter.
The lab is also interested in how the complex environment of the gastrointestinal tract can affect host health, productivity, susceptibility to pathogen colonization, and overall production outcomes.
Facilities and research capabilities
The Ruminant Nutrition and Gut Microbiology Lab has research capabilities that support studies in ruminant nutrition, ruminal and intestinal microbial ecology, food safety, antimicrobial resistance, fermentation, and applied animal production.
The lab is positioned to evaluate how diet, feed additives, environmental factors, and management practices affect the microbial population of the gastrointestinal tract, host productivity, food safety outcomes, and production efficiency.
Laboratory capabilities:
- Rumen Fermentation Analysis
- Microbiome Sequencing
- Microbial Ecology Methods
- Fecal Bacterial Enumeration
- Volatile Fatty Acid Analysis
- Ammonia-N Analysis
- In Vitro Fermentation
- Sample Processing
Animal research resources include:
- UGA Research Farms
- Beef and Dairy Cattle Research Facilities
- Feedlot and Backgrounding Resources
- GreenFeed Technology
- SmartFeed Systems
- SmartWater Systems
Connecting lab research to the farm
Our research bridges laboratory science and applied animal production by evaluating how nutrition, microbial ecology, and management practices affect beef and dairy systems under real-world conditions.
Our research supports:
- Improved animal performance
- Greater feed efficiency
- Better food safety
- Reduced pathogen colonization
- Sustainable production systems
- Improved producer profitability
- Enhanced understanding of microbial ecology
- Evidence-based management practices
Collaborate with us
The Ruminant Nutrition and Gut Microbiology Lab welcomes opportunities to collaborate with researchers, producers, industry partners, and students interested in advancing ruminant nutrition and gut microbiome research.