NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – A project using functional genomics to uncover new strategies to "mitigate the shedding of" E. coli is underway as the first announced project to be funded under an initiative to improve the quality, reputation, and health of livestock in Alberta, Canada.
The project, called "The use of metagenomics to develop mitigation strategies for Escherichia coli O157:H7 colonization in cattle," will use C$470,000 ($475,000) to find new strategies to control the bacterium and to identify and develop new compounds to control it.
Brent Selinger, a researcher in biological sciences at the University of Lethbridge, and Tim McAllister, principal research scientist at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Lethbridge Research Centre, are leading the project.
It is the first of nine projects that will receive funding as part of Genome Alberta's Alberta Livestock Genomics Program, or ALGP, announced in April. Genome Alberta and the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, or ALMA, are putting up C$4.5 million for the program. Information about the other projects is expected in the coming weeks, Genome Alberta said.
In addition to funding from ALMA, funding from national and international organizations participating in the various projects will bring the total amount for ALGP to between C$8 million and C$9 million, David Bailey, president and CEO of Genome Alberta, said in a statement.