COMPANION ANIMALS SYMPOSIUM: Nutrition special needs– the relationship between novel ingredients, environment, and gene expression

), American Dairy Science Association, Canadian Society of Animal Science, Associacion Mexicana de Produccion, and the Western Section of the American Society of Animal Science in Phoenix, AZ, July 15 to 19, 2012. The committee for this symposium was comprised of J. L. Cline (K9 Crazy Consulting, Pine Bluff, AR), K. R. Kerr (University of Illinois, Urbana), and M. R. C. de Godoy (University of Illinois, Urbana). The pur-pose of the symposium was to explore the potential health benefits of novel ingredients and to review the published evidence supporting their use in dogs and cats. Recent biotechnological advances, including ge-nomic tools that may identify specific mechanisms by which novel ingredients function, were also discussed within the context of their application to companion animal nutrition and health.The first speaker of the symposium was G. Aldrich (Pet Food & Ingredient Technology Inc., Topeka, KS) whose presentation was titled “Alternative ingredi-ents: Which have scientific merit”? (Aldrich, 2012). The basis of his talk was that pressure continues to mount for the development of alternative ingredients and to expand existing ingredient supplies as the num-ber of pets continues to increase worldwide. There are several reasons for the development of alternative ingredients and their inclusion in pet foods. However, the use of such ingredients requires that their safety, efficacy, and utility be demonstrated.The symposium continued with the next speaker, M. R. Lappin (Colorado State University, Fort Collins), discussing the “Benefits of probiotic supplementation in stressful situations in companion animals” (Lappin, 2012). He indicated that there are many products on the market that contain probiotics and claim to be beneficial for dogs or cats. Results of studies with hu-mans, however, vary substantially and he emphasized that biological effects of individual probiotics can vary greatly. He stated that each probiotic should be careful -ly evaluated in well-designed controlled experiments to determine their value for use in pets. He indicated further that whereas some probiotics have been shown to be beneficial, many products currently marketed as probiotics have not been tested experimentally and, thus, may not meet the claims on the product label. Finally, he presented results of 2 studies demonstrating the beneficial effect of a probiotic on pets under stress.The third presentation, by K. R. Kerr (University of Illinois, Urbana) discussed the role of dietary mod-ifications for the treatment and prevention of lower urinary tract signs (