Ostsee Rostock Greifswald A 20 Dummerstorf A 20 A 19 Laage Lübeck/Wismar Berlin Dummerstorf Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2 18196 Dummerstorf Contact Leibniz-Institut für Nutztierbiologie (FBN) FBN Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2 18196 Dummerstorf STUDY, PROTECTION Germany AND APPLICATION Tel.: +49 38208 68-5 Fax: +49 38208 68-602 E-Mail: [email protected] www.fbn-dummerstorf.de Director Board of Curators Prof. Dr. K. Wimmers FBN Science Committee Chair Prof. Dr. K. Schellander ORGANIGRAMM Deputy Director state 2018 Prof. Dr. Ch. Kühn Scientic Advisory Board Chair Prof. Dr. H. Daniel Head of Administration LRD D. Wirges Institute of Genetics Institute of Institute of Institute of Behavioural Institute of Muscle Biology Institute of Nutritional Science Management Administration and Biometry Genome Biology Reproductive Biology Physiology and Growth Physiology and Services Head: Prof. Dr. N. Reinsch Head: Prof. Dr. Ch. Kühn Head: PD Dr. J. Vanselow Head: Prof. Dr. B. Puppe Head: Prof. Dr. S. Maak Head: Prof. Dr. C. C. Metges Scientic Organisation, Transfer Division I: General Administration, and Public Relations Organisation, Personnel B. Mennenga Dr. N. Borowy Program Area 1: Biodiversity & Adaptation Scientic Documentation Division II: Finance Cluster 1.1: Development and Programming / Cluster 1.2: Physiological and Genetical Biodiversity / and Procurement Dr. G. Viereck Cluster 1.3: Estimation, Modelling and Annotation of Genomic Variation D. Wenzel Quality Management Dr. J. Lorenz Division III: Construction and Properties F. Mogwitz Program Area 2: Welfare & Animal Health Cluster 2.1: Etho-Physiological Adaptation and Welfare / Cluster 2.2: Disease and Immune Response / Division IV: Information Cluster 2.3: Metabolic Health Technology D.-M. Brosig Veterinary Care and Program Area 3: Resource Utilisation & Enviromental Interactions Animal Welfare Staff Council Dr. O. Bellmann Cluster 3.1: Nutrients Conversion and Energy Metabolism / Cluster 3.2: Cellular and Tissue-Crosstalk and Nutrient Signals / Dr. M Langhammer Cluster 3.3: Animal-Environment Interactions Animal Experimental Facilities Equil Opportunities and Diversity E. Wytrwat Dr. B. Stabenow Representative Body for Metabolomics Core Facility Disabled Employees Dr. B. Fuchs K. Schlettwein Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) The Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) researches the functional biodiversity of farm animals in the context of the specific environments in which they are kept and derives sustainable solutions for farm animal husbandry. “Understanding animals” Discovering evolutionary approaches for sustainable animal production Milk, meat and eggs are important staple foods. There- The value-chain: soil – crop – livestock farming – food fore, livestock farming makes a significant contribution production has great potential for further increasing the to human nutrition. The basis for the domestication of efficiency and conservation of resources by reducing los- today‘s livestock species, has been laid more than 10,000 ses and optimizing material cycles. Animal welfare, ani- years ago. Adapting animals to the requirements of hu- mal health and food safety, efficiency and conservation mans has led to a great diversity within livestock species of resources, the ecological footprint and biodiversity at with variable manifestations of different features. Now, local and global levels – these all are issues of societal the existence of livestock species is conceivable only un- concern. Knowledge-based answers must be found for der the continous care of man. Livestock farming provi- these questions to improve both acceptance and sustai- des more than 50 % of the added value of agriculture and nability of livestock husbandry. thus is a central component of several agricultural value- creation chains. Also it plays a key role in the circular and At FBN, we examine the diverse biological solutions de- the bioeconomy. Husbandry of farm animals also forms veloped within livestock in the course of domestication an important part of maintaining rural, cultural and eco- and breeding, which result in the varying occurrence of nomic settings. important breeding traits. With this knowledge, we wish to make future livestock husbandry sustainable and to achieve individual and situational care for the animals. Scientists from FBN’s six institutes are working on more than 40 innovative projects in three interdisciplinary pro- PROGRAMME AREA gramme areas at the modern campus in Dummerstorf, which is equipped with a unique infrastructure. The ex- Institute of Genetics and Biometry cellence of the research is supervised by an international Institute of Genome Biology Scientific Advisory Board. Institute of Reproductive Biology Institute of Behavioural Physiology Adaptation Biodiversity & Biodiversity Institute of Muscle Biology and Growth Animal Health Animal Welfare & Welfare Animal Institute of Nutritional Physiology & Utilisation Resource Environmental Interactions Environmental 2 3 4 5 Biodiversity and Adaptation Animals differ in their trait characteristics, such as, for factors. For instance, we were able to demonstrate that example, in physical size or in the number of offspring offspring of mice grow slower, if their mothers are fed on and in their ability to successfully adapt to changing an excessively high-protein diet during lactation. How- environmental conditions (ambient temperature, feed ever, if the same high-protein diet is fed to female mice quality and quantity). Such differences can be found during pregnancy, then their offspring grows normally. between species and breeds but also between indi- Such changes in traits can be determined in permanently viduals. The scientists shed light on basic biological altered tissue structures or physical functions or even as mechanisms of the expression and regulation of body diseases occuring during adulthood and old age. functions as well as on adjustments at the level of indi- viduals (adaptation) and populations (biodiversity). This We investigate the biological foundations for phenome- approach elucidates causes for these differences and na of imprinting and programming and their consequen- helps to ensure a sustainable management and use of ces in different livestock species. Our goal is to elucidate the diversity of our farm animals. the structure of such epigenetic changes in the genetic material, taking into account that in some cases it is re- Ontogenesis and imprinting levant, whether a trait is inherited from the mother or father. In this context we furthermore investigate the Events and influences in early life (before birth/hatching influence of certain nutrients and their potential positive and up to a few weeks or months afterwards) can have impact on health and well-being. long-term effects on development and health, a pheno- menon named imprinting or programming. It is known from studies in mice, that this phenomenon manifests itself in a chemical modification of the genetic material. This is called ‘epigenetics’, as these modifications are not associated with a change in the sequence of DNA base pairs. Examples of factors that can cause such epigenetic changes, are feed shortages and stress situations such as social isolation or extreme heat. It is assumed that there are specific time periods during ontogenesis, from the development of the germ cell to the adult individual, in which specific organs and func- tions respond in particularly sensitive ways to external 6 7 phenomena, the Dummerstorf long-term-selected mouse lines are investigated as model organisms in addition to selected livestock species. Different traits of animals are expressed on different levels of the biological system and are displayed, through differences in hormone levels, gene expression or metabolite profiles, for example. Our inves- tigations at all these levels lead to a better understanding Physiological and genetic biodiversity of the link between genetic and physiological mechanisms of adaptation in livestock. We characterize the physiological and genetic diversity in farm animals. This includes differences between ani- mal breeds and breeding lines as well as the often very large genetic and physiological differences within the same breed. On the one hand differences between ani- mal breeds and breeding lines can be the consequence of targeted zootechnical selection of animals with particular characteristics (phenotype); on the other hand they can represent a genetic adaptation to different environments. For example, the variation within breeds can be seen, through animal-specific adaptive reactions in successive phases of development, such as the transition from the unborn to the newborn animal or from the pregnant to the lactating dam. This also applies to reactions to diffe- rent stress factors such as ambient heat or social isolati- on. In order to fundamentally understand these biological 8 9 We pay special attention to economically important traits, which are also important for the animals well-being. This includes first and foremost the energy metabolism of dai- ry cows, litter sizes in pigs and sheep, as well as growth and adaptability of fish in aquaculture. In addition, our dif- Teleost sh Mouse Farm animals ferent mouse breeding lines are used as models, because they are characterized by specific livestock-relevant traits. GATM GATM CKM GATM GATM CKM GATM GATM CKM These include fertility and litter size, weight and body Kidney ++ +++ composition as well as energy