LIMB Member Wins Best Poster Prize in ICOBM-2

Ju Kyoung Oh (right) receiving the 1st place for poster presentation, awarded by Dr. Wilhelm Holzapfel (left)

Phuket, Thailand. One of LIMB's current Ph.D. students, Ju Kyoung Oh, won first place for his poster presentation entitled, "Effects of Bacillus subtilis to the fecal microbiota of laying hens during Salmonella Gallinarum infection", at the International Conference on Beneficial Microbes (ICOBM) 2016, 2nd June 2016 at the Duangchanok Conference Hall in Duangjitt Resort and Spa.

The ICOMB-2 was held last 31st May to 2nd June 2016, held by Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia, in partnership with King Mongkut's Insititute of Technology, Ladkrabang, Thailand. It is the second of the same conference previously held in Penang, Malaysia, last 2014, which currently attracted over 300 participants worldwide. The main theme of the scientific conference is the search for microbes for the benefits of mankind, that has been observed since the Neolithic period (around 10,000 years BC). These beneficial microorganisms have long been utilized in various applications such as in agriculture, aquaculture, food and nutrition, medical and pharmaceutical, and other up-scaled industrial applications. Increasing potentials of these microbes are yet to be discovered, and many of them were presented at this conference.

Mr. Oh's presentation, alongside his co-authors, Ph.D. students Edward Pajarillo and Jong Pyo Chae, show the beneficial effect of feeding Bacillus subtilis strain CSL2 by analyzing the faecal microbiota of laying hens during Salmonella challenge. They have used advanced 16S pyrosequencing techniques and QIIME (Quantitative Insights in Microbial Ecology) analysis in deriving their results for administering this potential Bacillus probiotic to Salmonella-challenged laying hens. It was observed that Proteobacteria was highly abundant in Salmonella-challenged group (SC), whereas, Firmicutes abundance was higher in Bacillus-treated group (BT).High levels of beneficial bacteria (i.e. lactobacilli) was observed in the BT group, whereas, potentially pathogenic bacteria (i.e. Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, and Flavobacterium) are seen in (SC) group. 

Experimental design in weaned piglets shown as part of the poster presentation. 

The poster presentation award was presented by the International Committee on Food Microbiology and Hygiene (ICFMH) of the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS). Along with the poster presentation award, first place was given a cash reward of 500 euros.

The scientific journal article showing the results presented in this poster is currently published in the Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, following the link here.