November 9, 2007

Nutrigenomics, ethanol highlight Alltech's Manila lecture tour

In the field of animal health innovation, Alltech never runs out of new ideas. This global conglomerate, which only started operations in the 1980s, is taking another step in animal genetics. Called nutrigenomics, this new concept studies the effects of nutrition on genes in animals.

At the 21st Alltech Asia-Pacific Lecture Tour held in Manila on November 6, Alltech president Dr Pearse Lyons discussed how nutrigenomics work. "This technique gives us the ability to analyse to as many 6,700 ingredients in feed. If for example, you have a mycotoxin in the feed and the mycotoxin will affect the gene. But once we identified the mycotoxin affecting the gene, we can see its effects immediately. If there are some other toxic materials which are affecting animal DNA but unable to see it, nutrigenomics can detect it."  Encased in a microchip, Lyons said everything that happens in the animal's body, happens at the level of the gene can be detected on the nutrigenomics gene chip. Uncovering the animal's health problems through its genes can easily be detected through the nutrigenomic chip, says Lyons, adding more information means better predictions on the animal's health.

In preparation for the development of the so-called "science of the future", Alltech will be unveiling its Nutrigenomics Centre on December 6 this year at the company's world headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky. The US$20-million research facility is situated on a 10,000 -square metre area.

The symposium also included the emergence of cellulosic ethanol -- an alternative to corn-based ethanol. As oil prices now reaching its tipping points anew, the search for fuel alternative is again mounting and Lyons pointed out that though corn harvest in the US-- the world's biggest corn producer -- can reach a record of 13 billion bushels, it is still not enough to cover US ethanol production which is seen to eat up at least 20 billion bushels a year.

"China alone is targeting 50 million tonnes of corn and global feed requirement for pig and poultry production would range from 1,050 million tonnes in 2000 to 2,082 million tonnes in 2050. Where would this additional grain come from? This shortfall alone is a major problem but corn producers are already considering converting their grain into automotive fuel," says Lyons.