- Committee for study of microbiomes associated with animals

Brazil is home to the largest commercial cattle herd in the world. It is also the largest exporter of beef. In July 2014, beef exports reached US$ 690 million and 145,000 tons were shipped, and there was also a 9.6% increase in the average price on the international market. The cattle herd in Brazil is composed of about 209 million head, and the country is fifth in world rankings for the production of bovine milk, which is equivalent to a production of more than 31 billion tons of milk per year.

The bovine tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, shows great preference for taurine cattle breeds, while zebu breeds are highly resistant to infestation by this ectoparasite. The specificity of ectoparasite-host interactions is dictated by semiochemicals produced by the host, which may differ between cattle both resistant and susceptible to the tick. The fermentation hypothesis attempts to explain the differential attractiveness of hosts to hematophagous arthropods and dictates that allomones and kairomones, which include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), of the hosts are generated by the action of skin microorganisms on the secretions of these hosts. Scientists of the FMRP/USP have shown that: (1) genes that encode antimicrobial peptides are differentially expressed between the skins of a cattle breed resistant to the tick and a susceptible cattle breed (Nellore and Black and White Holstein [BPH]); (2) skin smears of these breeds have varying degrees of attractiveness to R. microplus; (3) the saliva that R. microplus secrets in its hosts (~ 500 ml per infestation) contains abundant and diverse antimicrobial peptides, and it is possible to modulate the skin microbiota to the point of affecting the semiochemical VOC profiles for R. microplus. This committee will focus on the study of microbiomes associated with the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, focusing on the Nelore, Holstein and Gir breeds, and microbiomes associated with the surface of cattle, as well as study its relation to susceptibility to hematophages, especially the tick Rhipicephalus microplus.

Considering poultry production, the balance of intestinal microbiota enhances the performance of birds and consequently industry profitability. In Brazil the number of research projects related to the microbiota of birds is unimpressive, especially those using molecular techniques. The intestinal microbiota may affect the intestinal health and immune system of birds which are factors linked to satisfactory production indices.