Health, Nutrition and Productivity: What Is the Connection to the Poultry Gastrointestinal Microbiota?

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Poultry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2024) | Viewed by 1832

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Poultry Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Interests: poultry; nutrition; feed

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The bird gut microbiota plays a crucial role in the upkeep of intestinal health through its ability to control host physiological functions required to maintain intestinal homeostasis. This is achieved through the competitive exclusion of detrimental microorganisms and pathogens, which prevents colonization and decreases the expense of energy that birds normally invest in keeping their immune systems active against these pathogens. A healthy intestinal microbiota indicates energy saving for the host, which translates into an improvement in the productive performance of the birds. Genetics, nutrition, management, welfare, etc., all play a role for birds in maintaining optimized performance and ensuring the homeostatic state of the microbiota.

Dr. Dima Lynn White
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microbiota
  • nutrition
  • genetics
  • management
  • immune system

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 1266 KiB  
Article
Characterizing the Effect of Campylobacter jejuni Challenge on Growth Performance, Cecal Microbiota, and Cecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Concentrations in Broilers
by Walid G. Al Hakeem, Emily E. Cason, Daniel Adams, Shahna Fathima, Revathi Shanmugasundaram, Jeferson Lourenco and Ramesh K. Selvaraj
Animals 2024, 14(3), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14030473 - 31 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1535
Abstract
This study aimed to understand the effect of C. jejuni challenge on the cecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration to form a better understanding of the host–pathogen interaction. Sixty broilers were randomly allocated into two treatments: control and challenge. Each treatment [...] Read more.
This study aimed to understand the effect of C. jejuni challenge on the cecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration to form a better understanding of the host–pathogen interaction. Sixty broilers were randomly allocated into two treatments: control and challenge. Each treatment was replicated in six pens with five birds per pen. On day 21, birds in the challenge group were orally gavaged with 1 × 108C. jejuni/mL, while the control group was mock challenged with PBS. The C. jejuni challenge had no effect on body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio compared to the control group. On day 28, the C. jejuni challenge decreased the observed features and Shannon index compared to the control group. On the species level, the C. jejuni challenge decreased (p = 0.02) the relative abundance of Sellimonas intestinalis on day 28 and increased (p = 0.04) the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium sp002160895 on day 35 compared to the control group. The C. jejuni challenge did not change the microbial function and the cecal concentrations of SCFA on days 28 and 35 compared to the control group. In conclusion, C. jejuni might alter the gut microbiota’s composition and diversity without significantly compromising broilers’ growth. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop