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ANSCI

Department of Animal Sciences

CFAES

Fat Deposition

Understanding the Regulation of Fat Deposition in Poultry

Developmental switches in birds and mammals determine if cells differentiate to become either fat or muscle cells, but many of the genes that control these switches are not yet known. Methods to repartition energy from fat to muscle growth are very desirable.

The approaches used by Dr. Kichoon Lee’s lab include genetic microarrays, measurement of targeted genes, or creation of cells or animals with foreign genes to examine the resulting effects on growth and development. They have identified several promising candidate genes that will require further investigation to determine if they can be manipulated to achieve a desired body composition.