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Scientific Reports Oct 2022Globally, most gut microbiota-related studies have focused on broilers due to their diverse microbial communities compared to that of layer chicken. However, in Africa...
Globally, most gut microbiota-related studies have focused on broilers due to their diverse microbial communities compared to that of layer chicken. However, in Africa few studies have been undertaken despite the increasing benefits to the poultry industry. The utilization of Insect-Based diets to improve the gastrointestinal function and gut health in poultry is increasingly gaining global attention. Here, we evaluated the potential roles of commercial black soldier fly larvae-based feeds (BSFLF) in reshaping the abundance, composition and diversity of the gut microbiota of layer chickens using high throughput Oxford nanopore Minion sequencing of the full length bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Two hundred and fifty ISA Brown layer chicks were reared in pens for a period of 20 weeks. The layer pullets were allotted 5 dietary treatments that were formulated as follows: control diet (T1): 100% FM + 0% BSFL, T2: 25% BSFL + 75% FM; T3: 50% BSFL + 50% FM; T4: 75% BSFL + 25% FM, and T5: 100% BSFL + 0% FM. Sampling was done from the eight major regions including oesophagus, crop, proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum, ileum, large intestines and ceca. Out of the 400,064 classified reads analyzed, the most dominant phyla identified across the feed treatments were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The diet treatment with 100% inclusion levels of BSFL showed the highest intra-species alpha diversity and richness according to Chao1 and Shannon index. Intra-species beta diversity assessment revealed that the diet types significantly influenced the abundance of the microbiota, but differences between most abundant taxa were similar. There was increase in abundance of potentially beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Enterococcus) with increased inclusion levels of BSFLF in layer pullets diets. Across the different gut segments, Lactobacillus dominated all the eight regions and the ceca was the most diverse segment. Our findings unravel complex gut microbial shift in laying hen fed BSFLF and therefore underpins the potential roles of beneficial bacteria as promising prebiotics and probiotics in reshaping of the gut microbiota to maintain good gut health.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Bacteria; Chickens; Diptera; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Larva; Microbiota; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
PubMed: 36202892
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20736-0 -
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2019Restrictions of in-feed antibiotics use in poultry has pushed research toward finding appropriate alternatives such as Direct-Fed Microbials (DFM). In this study,...
Restrictions of in-feed antibiotics use in poultry has pushed research toward finding appropriate alternatives such as Direct-Fed Microbials (DFM). In this study, previously tested isolates (. and . ) were used to evaluate their therapeutic and prophylactic effects against serovar Enteritidis (. Enteritidis) in broiler chickens. For this purpose, initial antibacterial activity of -DFM (10 spores/g or 10 spores/g) against . Enteritidis colonization in crop, proventriculus and intestine was investigated using an digestive model. Furthermore, to evaluate therapeutic and prophylactic effects of -DFM (10 spores/g) against . Enteritidis colonization, altogether 60 ( = 30/group) and 30 ( = 15/group) 1-day-old broiler chickens were randomly allocated to either DFM or control group (without -DFM), respectively. Chickens were orally gavaged with 10 cfu of . Enteritidis per chicken at 1-day old, and cecal tonsils (CT) and crop were collected 3 and 10 days later during the therapeutic study, whereas they were orally gavaged with 10 cfu of . Enteritidis per chicken at 6-day-old, and CT and crop were collected 24 h later from two independent trials during the prophylactic study. Serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), FITC-d and intestinal IgA levels were reported for both chicken studies, in addition cecal microbiota analysis was performed during the therapeutic study. DFM significantly reduced . Enteritidis concentration in the intestine compartment, and in both proventriculus and intestine compartments as compared to the control when used at 10 spores/g and 10 spores/g, respectively ( < 0.05). DFM significantly reduced FITC-d and IgA as well as SOD and IgA levels ( < 0.05) compared to the control in therapeutic and prophylactic studies, respectively. Interestingly, in the therapeutic study, there were significant differences in bacterial community structure and predicted metabolic pathways between DFM and control. Likewise, phylum and the genera , and cc_115 were decreased, while the genus was enriched significantly in the DFM group as compared to the control (MetagenomeSeq, < 0.05). Thus, the overall results suggest that the -DFM can reduce . Enteritidis colonization and improve the intestinal health in chickens through mechanism(s) that might involve the modulation of gut microbiota and their metabolic pathways.
PubMed: 31508436
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00282 -
Poultry Science May 2024This study sought to determine the relationship among broiler performance, organ development, and indicators of microbiota colonization. A total of 1,200 two-day-old...
This study sought to determine the relationship among broiler performance, organ development, and indicators of microbiota colonization. A total of 1,200 two-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks, divided among 3 cohorts of equal size, were housed in battery cages, and allotted based on body weight. On study d 11, birds were weighed, and birds with BW gain within the 10th and 90th percentiles were assigned to the Slow and Fast groups, respectively. Birds (n = 30 for each group) selected on d 11 were provided water and a corn-soybean meal-based diet ad libitum while maintained individually through study d 25 (i.e., a 14-d growth period). Parameters regarding growth performance, organ and intestine weights and lengths, and intestinal volatile fatty acid concentrations were measured. All data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA using the Mixed procedure of SAS. Fast birds exhibited greater (P < 0.001) BW gain and feed intake than slow birds, but feed conversion ratio (FCR) did not differ (P = 0.19). Additionally, Slow birds had higher (P < 0.05) relative weights (% of BW) for nearly all organs on d 11 and 25, most notably the gizzard, proventriculus, pancreas, and liver. Conversely, intestinal sections were longer (P < 0.05) in the Fast birds. Measurement of gut histomorphology did not show any notable differences between growth rate groups in terms of villi height, crypt depth, or their ratio for either time-point (P > 0.05). In terms of volatile fatty acid concentrations of luminal contents, acetate concentrations were 10.2% higher (P < 0.001) in the ileum of the Slow birds compared with Fast birds on d 25. Overall, the findings suggest that total BW gain is influenced by the development of metabolically active organs, as supported by lower weight gain in Slow birds with relatively larger organ weights and shorter intestinal lengths than their Fast counterparts. The general lack of differences in fermentation end-product concentrations in luminal contents does not rule out influence of the microbiota on growth rate of broilers, which warrants further investigation.
Topics: Animals; Chickens; Male; Fermentation; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Organ Size; Diet; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Intestines; Animal Feed; Random Allocation
PubMed: 38518667
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103628 -
Poultry Science Dec 2019Work was done to modify a limestone solubility assay to improve predictions of in vivo apparent ileal digestibility of Ca (AID Ca) in broilers and impacts on AID P....
Work was done to modify a limestone solubility assay to improve predictions of in vivo apparent ileal digestibility of Ca (AID Ca) in broilers and impacts on AID P. Limestones (LIME) were obtained from 3 commercial sources. LIME-1 (0.633 mm mean diameter, GMD); LIME-2 (ground sub-sample of LIME-1, GMD = 0.063 mm); LIME-3 (GMD = 0.326 mm), and LIME-4 (GMD = 0.831 mm). Solubility was determined at 5, 15, and 30 min of incubation using either a 0.2 N HCl (S1) or a pH 3 HCl (pH = 0.26) solution buffered with 3 M glycine (S2) to mimic gizzard and proventriculus pH. An AID trial was conducted with 320 Ross 708 male broilers. Treatments (Trt) were no added LIME, or added LIME-1, 2, 3, and 4 to achieve 0.67% Ca, to a basal diet (no added inorganic P, 0.07% Ca) with or without 1,000 U phytase/kg (36 h, 23 to 24 D of age, n = 8, 4 birds/n). Distal ileal digesta was collected from all birds and pooled by pen. Irrespective of interaction, LIME solubilized quicker and more completely with S1 vs. S2 at all time points (P < 0.05). LIME-2 solubilized the quickest, while LIME-3 had the lowest solubility through all incubation times (P < 0.05). The AID Ca was 66.30, 47.46, 19.93, and 66.33% for LIME-1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively (0 U/kg, P < 0.05). Phytase inclusion increased AID Ca by 15% on average (P < 0.05). The AID P dig was highest in no LIME added diet (74.91%) and adding LIME reduced (P < 0.05) AID P to 23.14, 12.78, 65.47, and 37.40%, for LIME-1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively in the absence of phytase. Regression showed that GMD, 15- and 30-min solubility were critical for AID Ca (R2 between 0.978 and 0.988). In conclusion, the solubility dynamics including speed and extend of solubilization, rather than a single timepoint, yield better predictions for in vivo Ca digestibility of LIME.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animal Husbandry; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Calcium Carbonate; Calcium, Dietary; Chickens; Diet; Digestion; Male; Models, Biological; Phosphorus, Dietary; Random Allocation; Solubility
PubMed: 31392342
DOI: 10.3382/ps/pez423 -
Veterinary World Oct 2021The aim of this study was to characterize from backyard chickens in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand.
AIM
The aim of this study was to characterize from backyard chickens in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Tissue samples were collected from backyard chickens suspected to have leucocytozoonosis and subjected to histopathology examination. The BLAST Tool at NCBI GenBank (Basic Local Alignment Research Tools) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST) was used to identify the nucleotide sequence of the partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I ( gene. A Phylogenetic tree for analysis of was constructed by using MEGA 7.0 software (https://www.megasoftware.net/).
RESULTS
The necropsy results revealed the subcutaneous hemorrhages of pectoral muscles, multifocal hemorrhages of the thymus and pectoral muscles, hemorrhage of the proventriculus and peritoneal cavity, and megaloschizonts of the pancreas and intestine, including subcapsular hemorrhages of the liver. Microscopic examination revealed numerous megaloschizonts of spp. in the pectoral muscles, intestine, pancreas, and thymus. Molecular analysis of the partial gene showed that the causal agent was closely related to reported in Japan.
CONCLUSION
From these results, was determined to be the causal agent of leucocytozoonosis and was closely associated with reported in Japan.
PubMed: 34903919
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.2634-2639 -
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2023The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of low crude protein (CP) diets containing increasing amounts of enzymolytic soybean meal (ESBM) on growth...
Enzymolytic soybean meal improves growth performance, economic efficiency and organ development associated with cecal fermentation and microbiota in broilers offered low crude protein diets.
The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of low crude protein (CP) diets containing increasing amounts of enzymolytic soybean meal (ESBM) on growth performance, economic benefit and organ development and the role of cecal fermentation and microbiota in broilers. A total of 360 one-day-old Arbor Acres chicks were randomly allocated into 6 groups with 6 replicates and 10 chicks each. The six dietary treatments consisted of a standard high-CP diet (PC), a low-CP diet (NC), and an NC diet with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5%, or 2.0% ESBM. The experiment lasted for 42 days. Compared to PC, NC showed decreased ( < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) in broilers from 22 to 42 days and from 1 to 42 days, while increasing levels of ESBM quadratically increased ( < 0.05) ADG from 1 to 42 days. Feed cost and total revenue in the NC were lower ( < 0.05) than that in the PC, while supplementation with ESBM in the NC linearly increased ( < 0.05) net profit and economic efficiency in broilers. There were significant differences ( < 0.05) in the liver, proventriculus and gizzard indices between the PC and NC groups, and supplementation with ESBM linearly increased ( < 0.05) the relative weights of liver, pancreas, proventriculus and gizzard in broilers at 42 days of age. The PC group had a higher cecal acetic acid concentration at 21 days and propionic acid concentration at both 21 and 42 days than the NC group ( < 0.05). Cecal acetic acid and propionic acid concentrations linearly increased ( < 0.05) with increasing levels of ESBM in broilers at 42 days of age. No significant differences in ACE, Chao1, Shannon and Simpson indices were observed among groups ( > 0.05), while the cecal abundances of , and increased ( < 0.05) with the increasing level of ESBM in the low-CP diets. In conclusion, feeding ESBM improved economic efficiency, digestive organ development, cecal fermentation and microbial community composition, and up to 2.0% ESBM addition had no negative effect on the growth performance in broilers fed low CP diets.
PubMed: 38046570
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1293314 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Nov 2023The application of corn bran (CB) to laying ducks via iso-energy and iso-nitrogen diets is rarely reported. Six hundred laying ducks (49 weeks) were equally assigned to...
The application of corn bran (CB) to laying ducks via iso-energy and iso-nitrogen diets is rarely reported. Six hundred laying ducks (49 weeks) were equally assigned to five treatments: the control group with 0% CB and the other four groups with 3%, 6%, 9%, and 12% CB. The experiment lasted for 11 weeks. With the increase in CB, the relative weight of the proventriculus, gizzard, and ileum and the content and proportion of butyric acid in the cecal digesta were quadratically changed ( < 0.05), and the highest value was observed in the 12% CB group. Compared with the control, the 12% CB group showed decreased Deferribacteres, Spirochaetota, and Fusobacteriota at the phyla level and showed increased and decreased and at the genus level ( < 0.10); the 12% CB group also showed 46 different metabolites, which are related to and ( < 0.05). The 12% CB group showed increased ( < 0.05) albumen height at week 8 and yolk color at weeks 4 and 8 compared with the control. Overall, dietary inclusion of 3% to 12% CB is a possible feeding strategy for laying ducks under iso-energy and iso-nitrogen conditions, and the 12% CB group was more effective.
PubMed: 38067067
DOI: 10.3390/ani13233716 -
Scientific Reports Nov 2021Xylanase improves poultry nutrition by degrading xylan in the cell walls of feed grains and release the entrapped nutrients. However, the application of xylanase as a...
Xylanase improves poultry nutrition by degrading xylan in the cell walls of feed grains and release the entrapped nutrients. However, the application of xylanase as a feed supplement is restricted to its low stability in the environment and gastrointestinal (GI) tract of poultry. To overcome these obstacles, Zeozyme NPs as a smart pH-responsive nanosystem was designed based on xylanase immobilization on zeolitic nanoporous as the major cornerstone that was modified with L-lysine. The immobilized xylanase was followed by encapsulating with a cross-linked CMC-based polymer. Zeozyme NPs was structurally characterized using TEM, SEM, AFM, DLS, TGA and nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms at liquid nitrogen temperature. The stability of Zeozyme NPs was evaluated at different temperatures, pH, and in the presence of proteases. Additionally, the release pattern of xylanase was investigated at a digestion model mimicking the GI tract. Xylanase was released selectively at the duodenum and ileum (pH 6-7.1) and remarkably preserved at pH ≤ 6 including proventriculus, gizzard, and crop (pH 1.6-5). The results confirmed that the zeolite equipped with the CMC matrix could enhance the xylanase thermal and pH stability and preserve its activity in the presence of proteases. Moreover, Zeozyme NPs exhibited a smart pH-dependent release of xylanase in an in vitro simulated GI tract.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Delayed-Action Preparations; Dietary Supplements; Endo-1,4-beta Xylanases; Enzymes, Immobilized; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Nanoparticles; Poultry; Zeolites
PubMed: 34725388
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00688-7 -
Acta Biologica Hungarica Sep 2017The list of orexigenic and anorexigenic peptides, those are known to alter feed intake, is continuously growing. However, most of them are studied in mammalian species....
The list of orexigenic and anorexigenic peptides, those are known to alter feed intake, is continuously growing. However, most of them are studied in mammalian species. We aimed to investigate plasma level and mRNA expression of the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), gene expression of its receptor (PAC1), furthermore the gene expression of galanin (GAL), neuromedin U (NMU), and its two receptors (NMUR1 and NMUR2) in the hypothalamus, proventriculus, and jejunum of hens exposed to 40% calorie restriction. Feed restriction resulted in a 88% increase in mRNA and a 27% increase in peptide level of PACAP in proventriculus measured with qPCR and RIA, respectively. Increases were found in the gene expression of PAC1 (49%) and NMUR1 (63%) in the hypothalamus. Higher expressions of peptide encoding genes (76% for PACAP, 41% for NMU, 301% for NMUR1 and 308% for GAL, P < 0.05) were recorded in the jejunum of hens exposed to restricted nutrition. The results indicate that PACAP level responds to calorie restriction in the proventriculus and jejunum, but not in the hypothalamus and plasma.
Topics: Animals; Caloric Restriction; Chickens; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Hypothalamus; Jejunum; Neuropeptides; Organ Specificity; Proventriculus; Receptors, Neuropeptide; Tissue Distribution
PubMed: 28901800
DOI: 10.1556/018.68.2017.3.1 -
Poultry Science Dec 1995Oral inoculation of day-old broiler chicks with a crude homogenate of affected proventricular tissue, or the same homogenate filtered through a .2 micron filter caused...
Oral inoculation of day-old broiler chicks with a crude homogenate of affected proventricular tissue, or the same homogenate filtered through a .2 micron filter caused proventricular lesions similar to those responsible for carcass contamination of broilers at processing. Dietary copper sulfate (CUS) has also been shown to produce similar lesions. In this study, we investigated the interaction between crude proventriculus homogenate or filtered proventriculus homogenate and 1 g/kg CUS added to a standard chicken diet. Cobb x Cobb female broiler chicks were distributed into six groups with four replicate battery pens per group. Birds were fed either a standard broiler starter diet or the same diet with 1 g/kg CUS. Each dietary treatment was inoculated per os with 1 mL of either sterile saline, unfiltered homogenate, or filtered homogenate. Both crude and filtered homogenates had a much stronger affect on proventriculus score than did Cu by itself, resulting in no interaction between either homogenate or filtrate and CUS. There was a significant and possibly antagonistic interaction on proventriculus relative weights in the CUS by filtrate group during Week 1 and a synergistic interaction in the CUS by homogenate group during Week 4. Body weights were decreased in birds fed homogenate or CUS, but not in birds fed filtrate. There was a protective effect shown by filtrate on body weight of birds fed both filtrate and CUS only during Week 1. There was a synergistic decrease in body weight of birds fed homogenate and CUS during Week 2. Overall feed conversion efficiency was significantly decreased in the homogenate treatment (P = .04) and decreased in the birds fed CUS (P = .1). There was a (4.2 vs 2.3) (P = .1) decrease in feed conversion efficiency in birds fed both homogenate and CUS. Natural exposure to low levels of the infectious agent present in the homogenates may interact with excess dietary CUS, resulting in increased proventriculus size and decrease in body weight and feed conversion efficiency.
Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Chickens; Copper Sulfate; Diet; Drug Synergism; Female; Poultry Diseases; Proventriculus; Stomach Diseases; Tissue Extracts
PubMed: 8825586
DOI: 10.3382/ps.0741961