Indigestible carbohydrates alter the intestinal microbiota but do not influence the performance of broiler chickens
Date
2009
Authors
Geier, M.S.
Torok, Valeria
Allison, Gwen
Ophel-Keller, K
Hughes, R.J.
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Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
Aims: Prebiotics are a potential alternative to in-feed antimicrobials to improve performance of chickens. We investigated the effects of mannanoligosaccharide (MOS) and fructooligosaccharide (FOS) on growth, performance and the intestinal microbiota. Methods and Results: Cobb 500 birds were fed either: Control, starter diet without antimicrobials; ZnB, Control + 50 ppm zinc bacitracin; MOS, Control + 5 g kg-1 MOS; or FOS, Control + 5 g kg-1 FOS. An energy metabolism study was conducted and intestinal microbial communities assessed by T-RFLP and Lac PCR-DGGE. Diet did not influence performance. Ileal microbial communities were significantly different in ZnB-fed birds compared to all diets, and FOS-fed chickens compared to Control. MOS-fed chickens had a different caecal profile to ZnB and FOS-fed birds. Consensus Lac PCR-DGGE profiles indicated Lactobacillus communities clustered according to diet with Lactobacillus johnsonii characteristic of ZnB diet. Control and MOS-fed chickens displayed significantly different jejunal Lactobacillus profiles to each other whilst ileal profiles were different between MOS and FOS-fed birds. Conclusion: Prebiotics influenced the intestinal microbiota, but did not affect performance. Significance and Impact of the Study: In light of pressure for in-feed antimicrobial withdrawal, the impact of alternative compounds on the intestinal microbiota and bird performance is critical to the poultry industry.
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Keywords: bacitracin zinc; fructose oligosaccharide; oligosaccharide; prebiotic agent; antimicrobial activity; carbohydrate; diet; metabolism; microbial activity; microbial community; performance assessment; poultry; probiotics; animal experiment; animal tissue; ar Antimicrobial; Chicken; Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis; Gut microbial profiling; Prebiotics; Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism
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Source
Journal of Applied Microbiology
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Journal article
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2037-12-31
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