Spotlight on Irish research group’s animal gut microbial work

Alltech says its European Bioscience Centre, located in Ireland, has been nominated for a US-Ireland Research Innovation Award in relation to its work on how reduced diversity among intestinal gut microbes can affect animal health and can lead to the overgrowth of pathogens and the development of resistance.

Now in its fourth year, the awards are a joint initiative between the Royal Irish Academy and the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland. The winners will be announced on May 18.

The research center, which is based in Dunboyne in County Meath, employs around 20 full-time scientists. They are also examining how increasing gut microbial diversity through nutrition and diet can aid in the control overgrowth of pathogens with the aim of reducing reliance on antibiotics.

However, that research team focuses on a range of research areas including yeast cell wall architecture, trace element chelation, biomarker detection as well as microbial population dynamics.