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The gut microbiota of laying hens and its manipulation with prebiotics and probiotics to enhance gut health and food safety

journal contribution
posted on 2021-06-01, 04:15 authored by Samiullah Khan, Robert J Moore, Dragana StanleyDragana Stanley, Kapil K Chousalkar
The microbiota plays a vital role in maintaining gut health and influences the overall performance of chickens. Most gut microbiota-related studies have been performed in broilers, which have different microbial communities compared to those of layers. The normal gut microbiota of laying chickens is dominated by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, and Actinobacteria at the phylum level. The composition of the gut microbiota changes with chicken age, genotype, and production system. The metabolites of gut microbiota, such as shortchain fatty acids, indole, tryptamine, vitamins, and bacteriocins, are involved in hostmicrobiota cross talk, maintenance of barrier function, and immune homeostasis. Resident gut microbiota members also limit and control the colonization of foodborne pathogens. In-feed supplementations of prebiotics and probiotics strengthen the gut microbiota for improved host performance and colonization resistance to gut pathogens, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. The mechanisms of action of prebiotics and probiotics come through the production of organic acids, activation of the host immune system, and production of antimicrobial agents. Probiotic candidates, including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacillus, Saccharomyces, and Faecalibacterium isolates, have shown promising results toward enhancing food safety and gut health. Additionally, a range of complex carbohydrates, including mannose oligosaccharides, fructo-oligosaccharides, and galacto-oligosaccharides, and inulin are promising candidates for improving gut health. Here, we review the potential roles of prebiotics and probiotics in the reshaping of the gut microbiota of layer chickens to enhance gut health and food safety.

Funding

Category 3 - Industry and Other Research Income

History

Volume

86

Issue

13

Start Page

1

End Page

18

Number of Pages

18

eISSN

1098-5336

ISSN

0099-2240

Location

United States

Publisher

American Society for Microbiology

Language

eng

Peer Reviewed

  • Yes

Open Access

  • No

Acceptance Date

2020-04-24

External Author Affiliations

The University of Adelaide; RMIT University

Author Research Institute

  • Institute for Future Farming Systems

Era Eligible

  • Yes

Medium

Electronic-Print

Journal

Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Article Number

ARTN e00600-20