Dietary supplementation with improves growth performance of broilers by regulating intestinal microbiota and mucosal epithelial cells.

has been widely considered an antibiotic substitute in recent years. It can promote growth performance, improve the immune response and enhance the intestinal barrier function of the host. In the present study, 1-d-old Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were fed (1 × 10 cfu/kg) for 28 d.

Identification of a H6 Thioesterase Involved in Zearalenone Detoxification by Transcriptomic Analysis.

Zearalenone (ZEA), a nonsteroidal estrogenic mycotoxin produced by , induces hyperestrogenic responses in mammals and can cause reproductive disorders in farm animals. In this study, a transcriptome analysis of H6, which was previously identified as a ZEA-degrading bacterium, was conducted with high-throughput sequencing technology, and the differentially expressed genes were subjected to gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. Among the 16 upregulated genes, BAMF_RS30125 was predicted to be the key gene responsible for ZEA degradation.

Gut microbiota profiles of commercial laying hens infected with tumorigenic viruses.

Background: Studies have shown that some viral infections cause structural changes in the intestinal microflora, but little is known about the effects of tumorigenic viral infection on the intestinal microflora of chickens.

Results: A 29-week commercial layer flock positive for avian leukosis virus-J (ALV-J), Marek's disease virus (MDV) and avian reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) was selected, and fresh fecal samples were collected and examined for the composition of the gut microflora by Illumina sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. The operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of the fecal microbiota differentiated the chickens infected with only ALV-J and those coinfected with ALV-J and MDV or REV from infection-negative chickens.

Characteristics of the fecal microbiota of high- and low-yield hens and effects of fecal microbiota transplantation on egg production performance.

The microbiota that resides in the digestive tract plays pivotal role in maintaining intestinal environmental stability by promoting nutrition digestion and intestinal mucosal immunity. However, whether the intestinal microbiota in laying hens affects egg laying- performance is not known. In this study, 16S rDNA gene sequencing and fecal microbiota transplantation were used to determine the structure of the intestinal microbiota and the effect of the intestinal microbiota on egg production.