Project Number: 6445-12630-003-07
Project Type: Trust

Start Date: Jan 01, 2008
End Date: Jun 30, 2010

Objective:
(1) Identify the dominant urease and uricase producing microbes (i.e. the ammonia producers) present in poultry litter. (2) Determine which environmental factors within poultry houses, both physical and chemical, affect the populations of these ammonia producing microbes. (3) Perform time-course bench scale experiments to observe how commonly used litter amendments affect the microbiology of the poultry litter, specifically the ammonia producing populations. (4) Test the validity of novel amendments to reduce the presence of these ammonia producing microbes and reduce ammonia emissions from poultry houses, and compare those results to the experiments performed in Objective 3. (5) Determine how the amendments used in Objectives 3 and 4 affect not only the microbiology, but also the chemistry of nitrogen cycling within poultry litter.

Approach:
Use community cloning techniques to identify dominant urease and uricase producers in poultry litter. Design Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) primers to specifically target these ammonia producers from poultry litter. Design quantitative Real-Time PCR assays to quantify these ammonia producers in various types and treated poultry litter.