The effects of continual consumption of origanum vulgare on liver transcriptomics

Pathogen control is re-emerging as a significant challenge to the health of both humans and animals. The livestock industry is in the process of massively replacing in-feed antibiotics with organic production friendly plant-based products. Nutrigenomics as a science of the effects of food constituents on gene expression is shedding more light on both benefits and detrimental side-effects of feed additive prolonged consumption on the host, indicating the need to understand the feed– host interactions and their influence on the host disease profile. In this study, we investigated the effects of 2% oregano powder supplementation on the liver gene expression in healthy male broilers from the hatch to 6 weeks of age. Deep RNAseq was performed on average 113.3 million paired and quality trimmed sequences per sample and four samples for the control and treatment each. The results demonstrate the severity of oregano effect on liver gene expression with substantial modifications in steroid hormone regulation, fat and carbohydrate metabolism alterations and strong influence on the host disease and function profile. Oregano supplementation was able to interfere with the transcriptional effects of a range of registered drugs and to significantly transcriptionally inhibit a range of cancer disease categories including liver cancer, and to modify fat and carbohydrate metabolism

Poultry feeds carry diverse microbial communities that influence chicken intestinal microbiota colonisation and maturation

Microbial colonisation of the gastrointestinal tract of newly hatched chicks starts at hatch, seeded from the immediate hatching environment, and quickly results in dense colonisation. The role of ecological factors in gut colonisation has been extensively investigated, as well as the role of micro- and macronutrients in supporting and selecting for bacterial species highly adapted for utilising those nutrients. However, the microbial community contained in poultry feed and its influence on colonisation and maturation of gut microbiota has not been directly addressed. In this study, we compared the microbiota found in poultry feed, with the microbiota of ileum, cecum and excreta, to identify substantial overlap in core microbiotas of the compared groups. We then investigated the microbiota present in raw feedstuffs: meat and bone meal, wheat, corn, canola, barley, soybean, millrun, sorghum, poultry oil, oats, limestone and bloodmeal from four geographically distinct feedstuff suppliers. Each of the feedstuffs had diverse microbial communities. The meat and bone meal and bloodmeal samples had the most complex and distinct microbial populations. There was substantial overlap in the phylogenetic composition found in the grain and seed samples: barley, canola, corn, millrun, oats, sorghum, soybean meal and wheat. Issues related to methodology, viability of microbial communities in the gut and feed, and the implications for biosecurity are discussed

Precision glycan supplementation improves gut microbiota diversity, performance, and disease outbreak resistance in broiler chickens

The poultry industry contributes significantly to the global meat industry but faces many production challenges like high-density housing, welfare issues, and pathogenic infections. While antibiotics have commonly been used to treat many of these issues, they are being removed from poultry production globally due to increased microbial resistance. Precision glycans offer a viable alternative to antibiotics by modulating microbial metabolic pathways. In this study, we investigated the effects of precision glycan supplementation on productivity and gut microbiota in broilers. The experiment was conducted in a commercial setting using 32,400 male Ross chickens randomly divided into three sheds with 10,800 birds each. One shed with 12 pen replicates of 900 birds was used as control, while the other two with an equal number of replicates and birds were assigned to precision glycan supplementation. The treatment significantly improved the average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio, with a significant modification in the abundance of several bacterial taxa in the caecum, ileum, and ileum mucosa microbial communities. There was increased richness and diversity in the caecum, with a reduction in Proteobacteria and an increase in Firmicutes. Richness remained unchanged in the ileum, with an increase in diversity and reduction in pathogenic genera like Clostridium and Escherichia-Shigella. Ileum mucosa showed a lower abundance of mucin degraders and an increased presence of next-generation probiotics. Supplemented birds showed a high level of disease resistance when the farm experienced an outbreak of infectious bronchitis, evidenced by lower mortality. Histological analysis confirmed improvements in the ileum and liver health, where the precision glycan supplementation reduced the area of congested sinusoids compared to the control group in the liver and significantly improved ileum intestinal morphology by increasing crypt depth and surface area. These results collectively suggest that precision glycans offer substantial benefits in poultry production by improving productivity, gut health, and disease resistance

Pioneering gut health improvements in piglets with phytogenic feed additives

This research investigates the effects of phytogenic feed additives (PFAs) on the growth performance, gut microbial community, and microbial metabolic functions in weaned piglets via a combined 16S rRNA gene amplicon and shotgun metagenomics approach. A controlled trial was conducted using 200 pigs to highlight the significant influence of PFAs on gut microbiota dynamics. Notably, the treatment group revealed an increased gut microbiota diversity, as measured with the Shannon and Simpson indices. The increase in diversity is accompanied by an increase in beneficial bacterial taxa, such as Roseburia, Faecalibacterium, and Prevotella, and a decline in potential pathogens like Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Campylobacter. Shotgun sequencing at the species level confirmed these findings. This modification in microbial profile was coupled with an altered profile of microbial metabolic pathways, suggesting a reconfiguration of microbial function under PFA influence. Significant shifts in overall microbial community structure by week 8 demonstrate PFA treatment’s temporal impact. Histomorphological examination unveiled improved gut structure in PFA-treated piglets. The results of this study indicate that the use of PFAs as dietary supplements can be an effective strategy, augmenting gut microbiota diversity, reshaping microbial function, enhancing gut structure, and optimising intestinal health of weaned piglets providing valuable implications for swine production. Key points • PFAs significantly diversify the gut microbiota in weaned piglets, aiding balance. • Changes in gut structure due to PFAs indicate improved resistance to weaning stress. • PFAs show potential to ease weaning stress, offering a substitute for antibiotics in piglet diets

Cecal Microbiota of Free-Range Hens Varied With Different Rearing Enrichments and Ranging Patterns

Free-range pullets are reared indoors but the adult hens can go outside which is a mismatch that may reduce adaptation in the laying environment. Rearing enrichments might enhance pullet development and adaptations to subsequent free-range housing with impact on behavior and health measures including gut microbiota. Adult free-range hens vary in range use which may also be associated with microbiota composition. A total of 1,700 Hy-Line Brown® chicks were reared indoors across 16 weeks with three enrichment treatment groups: "control" with standard litter housing, "novelty" with weekly changed novel objects, and "structural" with custom-designed perching structures in the pens. At 15 weeks, 45 pullet cecal contents were sampled before moving 1,386 pullets to the free-range housing system. At 25 weeks, range access commenced, and movements were tracked via radio-frequency identification technology. At 65 weeks, 91 hens were selected based on range use patterns ("indoor": no ranging; "high outdoor": daily ranging) across all rearing enrichment groups and cecal contents were collected for microbiota analysis via 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing at V3-V4 regions. The most common bacteria in pullets were unclassified Barnesiellaceae, Prevotella, Blautia and Clostridium and in hens Unclassified, Ruminococcus, unclassified Lachnospiraceae, unclassified Bacteroidales, unclassified Paraprevotellaceae YRC22, and Blautia. The microbial alpha diversity was not significant within the enrichment/ranging groups (pullets: P ≥ 0.17, hen rearing enrichment groups: P ≥ 0.06, hen ranging groups: P ≥ 0.54), but beta diversity significantly varied between these groups (pullets: P ≤ 0.002, hen rearing enrichment groups: P ≤ 0.001, hen ranging groups: P ≤ 0.008). Among the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the propionic acid content was higher (P = 0.03) in the novelty group of pullets than the control group. There were no other significant differences in the SCFA contents between the rearing enrichment groups (all P ≥ 0.10), and the ranging groups (all P ≥ 0.17). Most of the genera identified were more abundant in the indoor than high outdoor hens. Overall, rearing enrichments affected the cecal microbiota diversity of both pullets and adult hens and was able to distinguish hens that remained inside compared with hens that ranging daily for several hours

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens probiotics mix supplementation in a broiler leaky gut model

The supplementation of antimicrobial growth promoters (AGPs) has been banned in many countries because of the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in poultry products and the environment. Probiotics have been broadly studied and demonstrated as a promising AGP substitute. Our study is centred on the effects of a multi-strain Bacillus-based probiotic product on broiler production performance and gut microbial profile in a dexamethasone-induced leaky gut challenge. Two hundred and fifty-six broiler chicks were hatched and randomly assigned into four groups (wheat-soybean meal basal diet (BD) = non-supplemented control (C), BD supplemented with dexamethasone in week 4 (CD), BD containing a probiotic from day one (P), and BD containing a probiotic from day one and supplemented with dexamethasone during challenge week 4 (PD)). The production performance and caecal, gizzard, jejunal lumen and jejunal mucosa swab microbiota were studied by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The Bacillus probiotic product significantly improved production performance and altered caecal gut microbiota (p ≤ 0.05), but no significant impact on microbiota was observed in other gut sections

Feed Safety and the Development of Poultry Intestinal Microbiota

The first feed offered to young chicks is likely the most important meal in their life. The complex gut colonisation process is determined with early exposure and during the first days of life before the microbial community is formed. Therefore, providing access to high-quality feed and an environment enriched in the beneficial and deprived of pathogenic microorganisms during this period is critical. Feed often carries a complex microbial community that can contain major poultry pathogens and a range of chemical contaminants such as heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticides and herbicides, which, although present in minute amounts, can have a profound effect on the development of the microbial community and have a permanent effect on bird’s overall health and performance. The magnitude of their interference with gut colonisation in livestock is yet to be determined. Here, we present the animal feed quality issues that can significantly influence the microbial community development, thus severely affecting the bird’s health and performance