Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

MEETING SUMMARY, NECC1200, EQUINE CLINICAL STUDIES COORDINATING COMMITTEE, UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015. The third meeting of the Equine Clinical Studies Coordinating Committee was hosted by Amy Biddle in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at the University of Delaware, at Newark, DE. Present were Amy Biddle, Ken McKeever, Carey Williams and Robert Causey. Joining by conference call were Karyn Malinowski (in the AM) and Donna Coffin (in the PM). Anne Lichtenwalner audited the discussion. The meeting opened with a welcome from Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mark Rieger, and Professor and Chair of Animal and Food Sciences, Limin Kung. The group reviewed the results of the survey of horse owners regarding their needs for gastrointestinal research. Horse owners ranked gastrointestinal health highly, and supported further research in the area. It was decided that the information gained from the survey was valuable and should be submitted to the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science as a short communication. In discussing the use of probiotics described in the survey, the point was made that veterinarians also would benefit from further information on the gut microbiome. Amy Biddle then delivered an historical review of research on the equine intestinal microbiome. Her presentation reviewed studies of gut microbial communities from the earliest biochemical studies several decades ago to the bioinformatics of the present day. The take-home message was that while we have extensive genomic data on gut microflora, there is still a need to understand the biochemical processes in different microbial communities. This will be necessary to understand the pathophysiology of diseases which result from disturbances of gut microflora. Dr Biddle then went on to describe her equine microbiome project , which will characterize the equine gut microbiome. It was felt that Dr Biddle might choose to initiate a formal Multistate proposal specifically addressing the equine microbiome and gastrointestinal health. Dr Biddle gave the group a tour of her lab, showing the work flow from genomic analysis to anaerobic culture of gut microflora. It was suggested that a NIFA conference grant be submitted for an Equine Microbiome conference in 2017. This would include programs for scientists and possibly practicing veterinarians, held in conjunction with another conference. Suggested as possible venues were the Hambletonian, The Equine Science Society annual symposium (June 2017), or the Mid-Atlantic Nutrition conference March 23-24 2017. In discussing the next meeting of this committee, it was agreed to hold it at the University of Maine on Sept 16, 2016, possibly in conjunction with a CE program for local veterinarians and horse owners.