Microbiome Dynamics in Poultry Gastrointestinal Health
Summary
The poultry gastrointestinal tract hosts a complex and dynamic microbiome that evolves rapidly after hatch, with distinct communities established in the crop, proventriculus, ileum and caecum. These communities contribute to digestion, nutrient absorption, immune development and pathogen exclusion. Early colonisers shape niche succession, while host genetics, diet composition, housing conditions and antimicrobial use influence microbial assembly and stability. Functional outputs such as short-chain fatty acids, bile-acid transformations and amino-acid metabolism mediate energy harvest and modulate mucosal immunity. Disruptions to microbial balance can impair growth performance, nutrient conversion and disease resistance, whereas targeted modulation of key taxa offers routes to enhance feed efficiency, reduce fat deposition and support intestinal health without reliance on antibiotics.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent metagenomic surveys have revealed the caecum as a reservoir of microbial diversity critical to feed efficiency. Birds exhibiting superior feed conversion ratios display elevated abundances of Lactobacillus and Akkermansia alongside reduced Faecalibacterium populations. Predictive functional profiling highlights an enrichment of carbohydrate-utilisation and amino-acid metabolism pathways in efficient birds, underscoring the role of microbiota-driven nutrient processing. These findings point towards precision microbiome management as a tool to optimise production performance and sustainability in poultry systems.
Microbiome Dynamics in Poultry Gastrointestinal Health publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in microbiome dynamics in poultry gastrointestinal health across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Microbiome: The collective genomes and metabolic activities of microorganisms inhabiting an environment.
Caecal microbiota: The community of bacteria, fungi and archaea residing in the caecum, the primary fermentation chamber in birds.
Short-chain fatty acids: Metabolic by-products of microbial fermentation that serve as energy sources and immunomodulators for the host.
Th17/Treg cells: Subsets of T lymphocytes mediating pro-inflammatory (Th17) and regulatory (Treg) responses in the intestinal mucosa.
Feed conversion ratio (FCR): The mass of feed required to produce a unit of poultry body weight gain, a key metric of production efficiency.
References
- Quantitative microbiome profiling reveals the developmental trajectory of the chicken gut microbiota and its connection to host metabolism. iMeta (2023).
- Fecal microbiota transplantation improves chicken growth performance by balancing jejunal Th17/Treg cells. Microbiome (2023).
- Chicken cecal microbiota reduces abdominal fat deposition by regulating fat metabolism. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes (2023).
- Gut metagenomic analysis reveals prominent roles of Lactobacillus and cecal microbiota in chicken feed efficiency. Scientific Reports (2017).
- Strategies to modulate the intestinal microbiota and their effects on nutrient utilization, performance, and health of poultry. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology (2019).
- Host and Environmental Factors Affecting the Intestinal Microbiota in Chickens. Frontiers in Microbiology (2018).
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