A collaborative research team comprised of researchers from Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) and Kangwon National University has been selected for a government-funded basic research project and will begin developing ecofriendly livestock technologies.

JBNU announced on the 29th that a joint research team composed of Min Ji-ho (Division of Chemical Engineering), Lee Ji-hoon (Department of Bioenvironmental Chemistry), and Cha Se-yeon (Center for Avian Disease) from JBNU, together with Yang Yu-ri (School of Life and Environmental Convergence, Kangwon National University), has been selected as a new project for the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea's '2026 Basic Research Laboratory Support Program'.

The Basic Research Laboratory Support Program supports small collaborative research groups focused on specific research topics. This year, 127 projects were selected nationwide. Selected projects will receive a total of KRW 1.5 billion in research funding over three years.

The research team will conduct a project titled 'Development of Ecofriendly Microvesicles for Improving Livestock Barn Environments and Technologies for Livestock Barn Odor Removal.' They plan to use yeast-derived microvesicles to selectively control harmful bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, and Salmonella, and to develop technology that simultaneously reduces the sources and compounds responsible for livestock barn odors.

They will also develop, in parallel, an environmental treatment applicable directly to barns and manure and a feed additive that modulates the gut microbiota of livestock. This approach aims to move beyond conventional post-removal methods and establish preventive livestock barn environmental management technologies that suppress odor generation in advance.

The research team will proceed in stages: identifying odor-causing bacteria through microbiome analysis, elucidating mechanisms for reducing odorous compounds, and verifying efficacy and safety in animal models and in pig and poultry rearing environments. The research outcomes are expected to lead to the development of non-antibiotic feed additives and ecofriendly livestock barn environmental treatments.

The Principal Investigator (PI), Professor Min Ji-ho, said, 'Through ecofriendly technology that simultaneously controls odor-causing bacteria and odorous compounds, we will reduce antibiotic use and contribute to animal health and the establishment of a sustainable livestock environment.'