Xylan contained in grain feeds causes digestion problems for polutry, including indigestion, and change of
morphology and physiological state of the poultry digestive tract. Our project aims at researching into
production of a probiotic functional in degrading xylan by genetic engineering.
To acquire opinions from a broad set of stakeholders of our project, which may be integrated to optimize our
project, we conduct a series of interviews and surveys.
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Latest revision as of 13:47, 19 October 2021
Integrated Human Practices
Overview
Experts’ Opinions on Poultry Breeding and Feed Industry
Interview with Prof. Xin Wang, Henan University of Technology (Ph.D, Chinese Academy of Sciences),
Interview with Prof. Xin Wang, Henan University of Technology (Ph.D, Chinese Academy of Sciences),
Prof. Wang obtained his Ph.D degree from the Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology,
Chinese Academy of
Sciences, and now works as a professor in Henan University of Technology. (Research Expertise:optimization
of agricultural production technology, and Engineered Bacteria)
We contacted Prof.Wang as the first interviewee during our early phase. We wish to
obtain an overview about the poultry breeding industry and poultry feed production in China. Prof.Wang
believes that the most severe issue of Chinese poultry is that China lacks a long-term breeding industry
plan, especially fowls. Furthermore, the scale of current Chinese poultry farms is relatively medium or
small, which plays an indispensable role in poultry farming though the country should focus on forage.
However, from data nowadays, the ratios of feed and its homologous output are unbalanced. For example,
Chinese white weather chicken, a breed improved from white Plymouth rock originated in America, can merely
produce 0.5 kilograms of eggs while consuming 1.2-1.25 kilograms of feed.
On the other hand, poultry feed cannot currently satisfy the market's need,
although it takes up half of the feed's total amount. With the development of fruitful and economical new
breeds of poultry, the demand for resources, maizes in the majority, blooms simultaneously. However, maizes
are served as feed and consumed by people, and stored in a national warehouse. Therefore, due to the limited
case of maize, it is necessary to decrease their proporation of poultry feed by improving feed.
Expanding sources and improving quality is the future of improving grain feed,
emphasizing on producing more feed out of less material. Through making specific feed innovation based on
species, yield, and age of poultry, the quality of feed may be enhanced the poultyr’s health could be
improved.
Through this interview, we learned about the rapid and insufficient development
of national animal husbandry, so we are more convinced of the importance of our research. Our project,
to develop feed additives specifically for single-stomach animals through improving xylan absorption in
animals to reduce feed intake, can greatly help relieve the pressure of animal husbandry in China and
even the world.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/8/8a/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice01.jpg)
Is GMO Technique Safe in Our Project?
Expert Interview, Dr. Jinzhong Tian, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Key Laboratory
of Synthetic Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Since the regulations of GMO techniques in food and drugs are quite strict in China
and in the world, will the strict regulations be obstacles for our project?
With this question in mind, we interviewed Dr. Jinzhong Tian, a synthetic biology
expert at Chinese Academy of Sciences.
According to Dr. Tian, GMO techniques are quite safe, as long as we follow the
related GMO products development procedures and regulations. In fact, most food are GMO products, even
though wheat, the most popular food in the world, is produced by GMO. In reality, quite a lot of food in the
market are produced by GMO, for instance, over 30% of corns are produced by GMO. Thereafter, it is a safe
choice to choose GMO from the perspective of practice and science.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tian also affirmed the research direction of our project, making
probiotic containing xylanase and producing poultry feed additives. Also, as we discussed the final product
form, Dr. Tian also agreed to make poultry beverage on the basis of our poultry feed additives. Whereas, Dr.
Tian reminded us that xylanase may be inactivated in vivo, thus he proposed that in the future we may
consider about using Sodium alginate to make a cover of our probiotic.
After the interview with Dr. Tian, we had a better understanding of GMO, especially
the safety issues. Meanwhile, we also got to know the possible problems of our final products. We may
continue to work as per his encouragement and suggestions.
Experts’ Other Concerns about our Project
Interview with Mr. Xiaoben Fan, Postgraduate Candidate in Veterinary Medicine at Sichuan Agricultural
University
Since the planned products of our project will be used in polutry, will it be a safe choice for animals? With this question in mind, we interviewed Mr. Xiaoben Fan, who is a postgraduate in Veterinary Medicine at Sichuan Agricultural University. Mr. Fan firstly confirmed that digstion injuries caused by inappropriate feed exist in poultry, furthermore, Mr. Fan also confirmed that accumulation of xylan may cause digestion injuries. Thereafter, Mr. Fan spoke highly of our project.
However, Mr. Fan also reminded us of the possible xylanase inactivity issue in vivo.
Since the planned products of our project will be used in polutry, will it be a safe choice for animals? With this question in mind, we interviewed Mr. Xiaoben Fan, who is a postgraduate in Veterinary Medicine at Sichuan Agricultural University. Mr. Fan firstly confirmed that digstion injuries caused by inappropriate feed exist in poultry, furthermore, Mr. Fan also confirmed that accumulation of xylan may cause digestion injuries. Thereafter, Mr. Fan spoke highly of our project.
However, Mr. Fan also reminded us of the possible xylanase inactivity issue in vivo.
Public Concerns on our Project-Application of GMO Probiotic in Poultry Feed
Survey & Media posts:
Our team came up with a questionnaire containing 11 questions related to our
project. We made the survey accessible for online and offline channels to obtain a wide range of responses
and ensure reliable results.
Volunteers' responses were collected both online and offline in the local area.
Members of our team forwarded the survey through our WeChat tweet and QR code. We received 455 responses
online and conducted data analysis. 12 people from the local area were interviewed, which made up the total
sample size of 467 of all ages.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/4/4d/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice02.jpg)
According to Figure 1, 43.08% of our samples were collected from people between 30
and 50 years old, and over 20% of the samples were collected from people between 18 and 30 years old. Among
these samples, 42.64% had experienced with poultry breeding. However, incorporating the in-depth
understanding of responses from street interviewers, we found that people understand the question
differently. Most people have only had the experience of feeding poultry instead of long-term farming
experience.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/4/4b/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice03.jpg)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/8/82/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice04.jpg)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/f/f9/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice05.jpg)
According to Figure 2 and Figure 3, most of the respondents (62.86%) supported the
new method. Base on the result, we further asked why they support the new method collected from respondents:
most supporters believe that using our product will make its “drinker” healthier with lower gastrointestinal
morbidity. At the same time, this product allows people to eat safer, healthier, and sanitary poultry
products.
Respondents who supported traditional methods consider more from the perspectives
of cost and farming scale. This shows that the public is more concerned about food safety than cost and
other reasons.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/6/6f/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice06.jpg)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/9/97/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice07.jpg)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/5/57/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice08.jpg)
It can be seen from Figure 5 that about 67.91% of the respondents still have
certain security concerns about the methods of our project. However, the information in Figure 6 shows that
if this project enters the market, 82.42% of respondents will still choose to purchase meat products related
to this project. This contrast data shows that when facing a project that has not been used in a market,
most people will be more conservative and pay particular attention to safety issues; however, when facing a
product that has already been put in the market, most people will choose to accept and buy it. This shows
that the public has a certain degree of trust and dependence on the market. After the product has been
reviewed and approved by the relevant market departments, some people no longer make cognitive efforts to
consider security issues.
In addition, it can be inferred from Figure 7 that for the poultry raised by the
traditional method and the project method, the public’s willingness to buy between the two differs by 2%.
This is consistent with the information obtained from the data in Figure 6. The attitude is actually not
that different, which suggested that we need to focus on how to gain the approval of farmers rather than the
favor of consumers of poultry meat products when implementing the project.
To sum up, through our questionnaire survey, we found that the public does not have
a deep understanding of this kind of project because it is irrelevant to most people’s daily life. Due to
the limitation of participant’s prior knowledge to this field, everyone will have safety concerns, but for
products that have entered the market, everyone’s attitudes towards new and traditional methods do not
various in a large scale. We need to start from the downstream which is the supply chain-farmers. Only
considering the direct benefits of our product can fully dig our commercial value.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/f/fd/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice09.jpg)
On August 22nd, we carried out our first street interview in Shanghai. The primary
purpose was to investigate public perceptions of gm and whether people would purchase xylanase added fodder.
It turns out that most people have a smattering knowledge of GMO products, and some believe that they might
cause harm to the ecosystem.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/9/9e/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice10.jpg)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/c/c9/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice11.jpg)
Considering the ones interested in our project and who wanted to follow our daily
progress, we also created an official team account on WeChat, where we would go into detail and further
explain our research subject, for example, an additional page of background. Each day, there will be photos
of our wet team working in the lab and reports of their progress written by the dry team. To fully engage
with the public, we also inserted the QR code for our survey. By filling out the questions, we will raise
public awareness and help us understand the current market perception of fodder optimization.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/0/0f/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice12.jpg)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/d/d7/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice13.jpg)
Recently, we accomplished a short promotional clip on the benefits that our project
will bring to the development of agriculture. We decided to use hand puppets to represent the
characters(animals and the landowner). By personifying the livestock, we entertained the readers and made
the purpose of our project easy to understand.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2021/9/9a/T--Shanghai_City_United--Integrated_Human_Practice14.jpg)