Effect of caecal microbiota transplantation between different broiler breeds on the chick flora in the first week of life

Abstract Background: The caecal microbiota and its modulation play an important role in animal health, productivity and disease control in poultry production. In this sense, it could be considered as a biomarker of poultry health. Furthermore, due to the emergence of resistant bacteria and the increasing social pressure to establish animal-friendly management on farms, producers are motivated to select more extensive and antibiotic-free breeds. It is therefore necessary to gain better knowledge on the development of major bacteria in healthy broilers, both in commercial fast-growing and in new slow-growing breeds. Hence, the aim of this study was to characterise caecal microbiota in two genetic poultry breeds throughout the growing period using 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. Results: A total of 50 caecal pools (25 per breed) were sequenced by the 16S rRNA method. The complexity of caecal microbiota composition increased significantly as animals grew. Furthermore, there were statistical differences between breeds at the end of the growing period. The dominant phyla throughout the production cycle were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. The predominantly identified genera were Ruminococcus spp., Lactobacillus spp. and Bacteroides spp.Conclusion: The results showed that the main caecal bacteria for both breeds were similar. Thus, these phyla or genera should be considered as biomarkers of poultry health in the evaluation of different treatments applied to animals.

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Peer Review #2 of "Sorghum and wheat differentially affect caecal microbiota and associated performance characteristics of meat chickens (v0.1)"

10.7287/peerj.3071v0.1/reviews/2 ◽

2017 ◽

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Performance Characteristics ◽

Caecal Microbiota

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Dietary Enteromorpha Polysaccharide Enhances Intestinal Immune Response, Integrity, and Caecal Microbial Activity of Broiler Chickens

Frontiers in Nutrition ◽

10.3389/fnut.2021.783819 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Teketay Wassie ◽

Zhuang Lu ◽

Xinyi Duan ◽

Chunyan Xie ◽

Kefyalew Gebeyew ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Gut Microbiota ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Marine Algae ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Control Group ◽

Villus Height ◽

Crypt Depth ◽

Caecal Microbiota

Marine algae polysaccharides have been shown to regulate various biological activities, such as immune modulation, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and hypolipidemic. However, litter is known about the interaction of these polysaccharides with the gut microbiota. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of marine algae Enteromorpha (Ulva) prolifera polysaccharide (EP) supplementation on growth performance, immune response, and caecal microbiota of broiler chickens. A total of 200 1-day-old Ross-308 broiler chickens were randomly divided into two treatment groups with ten replications of ten chickens in each replication. The dietary treatments consisted of the control group (fed basal diet), and EP group (received diet supplemented with 400 mg EP/kg diet). Results showed that chickens fed EP exhibited significantly higher (P < 0.05) body weight and average daily gain than the chicken-fed basal diet. In addition, significantly longer villus height, shorter crypt depth, and higher villus height to crypt depth ratio were observed in the jejunal and ileal tissues of chickens fed EP. EP supplementation upregulated the mRNA expression of NF-κB, TLR4, MyD88, IL-2, IFN-α, and IL-1β in the ileal and jejunal tissues (P < 0.05). Besides, we observed significantly higher (P < 0.05) short-chain volatile fatty acids (SCFAs) levels in the caecal contents of the EP group than in the control group. Furthermore, 16S-rRNA analysis revealed that EP supplementation altered gut microbiota and caused an abundance shift at the phylum and genus level in broiler chicken. Interestingly, we observed an association between microbiota and SCFAs production. Overall, this study demonstrated that supplementation of diet with EP promotes growth performance, improves intestinal immune response and integrity, and modulates the caecal microbiota of broiler chickens. This study highlighted the application of marine algae polysaccharides as an antibiotic alternative for chickens. Furthermore, it provides insight to develop marine algae polysaccharide-based functional food and therapeutic agent.

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Effect of Insect Live Larvae as Environmental Enrichment on Poultry Gut Health: Gut Mucin Composition, Microbiota and Local Immune Response Evaluation

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11102819 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 2819

Author(s):

Elena Colombino ◽

Ilaria Biasato ◽

Ilario Ferrocino ◽

Sara Bellezza Oddon ◽

Christian Caimi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Environmental Enrichment ◽

Staining Intensity ◽

Local Immune Response ◽

Gut Health ◽

Insect Larvae ◽

A Minor ◽

Dietary Treatments ◽

Caecal Microbiota

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Hermetia illucens (HI) and Tenebrio molitor (TM) live larvae as environmental enrichment on the mucin composition, local immune response and microbiota of broilers. A total of 180 four-day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly allotted to three dietary treatments (six replicates/treatment; ten animals/replicate): (i) control (C); (ii) C+HI; (iii) C+TM. Live larvae were distributed based on 5% of the expected daily feed intake. At slaughter (39 days of age), samples of duodenum, jejunum and ileum (twelve animals/diet) were submitted to mucin histochemical evaluation. Expression of MUC-2 and cytokines was evaluated by rt-qPCR in jejunum. Mucin staining intensity was not influenced by diet (p > 0.05); however, this varied depending on the intestinal segment (p < 0.001). No significant differences were recorded for IL-4, IL-6 TNF-α, MUC-2 and INF-γ gene expression in jejunum, while IL-2 was lower in the TM group compared to HI and C (p = 0.044). Caecal microbiota showed higher abundance of Clostridium, Saccharibacteria and Victivallaceae in the HI group, while Collinsella was higher in the TM group. The results suggested that live insect larvae did not impair mucin composition or local immune response, and can slightly improve caecal microbiota by enhancing a minor fraction of short chain fatty acid-producing taxa.

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