1. The effect on feed efficiency of two probiotics, one prepared with Saccharomyces boulardii and the other with Bacillus cereus var. toyoii, was tested in broilers infected with Salmonella enteritidis. 2. One-day-old chicks were divided at random into three groups and fed commercial feed devoid of antibiotics: group 1 was fed with non-supplemented feed, group 2 was supplemented with S. boulardii and group 3 with B. cereus. At 14 d of age the animals were challenged by the oral route with 1 x 10(7) viable S. enteritidis. 3. At d 47, average live weights were: group 1, 1.77 kg, group 2, 1.89 kg and group 3, 2.06 kg, and were significantly different. Feed conversion rates were 2.61 for group 1, 2.35 for group 2 and 2.30 for group 3. 4. We conclude that both probiotics improved feed efficiency in broilers.

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In a previous paper we showed that the yeast Pichia pastoris X-33 grown in parboiled rice effluent supplemented with glycerol byproduct from the biodiesel industry improved the quality of the effluent. In this paper we show the validation of this yeast (PPE) as probiotic for broilers. Its effect on feed efficiency and immunomodulation was compared with the same yeast grown in yeast peptone dextrose medium (PPY), with Saccharomyces boulardii (SBY) and with the controls fed unsupplemented feed (CON). One-day-old female chicks were vaccinated against infectious bursal disease (IBD) and the titers of anti-IBD antibodies were measured by ELISA. PPE group had the highest mean titres on days 14 and 28 (p<0,05), and at 28 days, 64% of the animals showed seroconvertion. The PPE group also showed the best weight gains at 42 days of age, that, on days 7, 14 and 21 were 19%, 15%, and 8.7% higher, respectively, than the control group. The best feed conversion, 8.2% higher than the control group, was obtained by PPY at 42 days. Histopathological studies did not detect any undesirable effects in the supplemented animals. We concluded that Pichia pastoris X-33 when grown in effluents of the rice parboiling industry supplemented with glycerol byproduct from the biodiesel has probiotic properties for poultry.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of Moraxella bovis and Moraxella bovoculi bacteria isolated from infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) outbreaks in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The genetic diversity among Moraxella spp. was evaluated by RAPD-PCR, JWP1-JWOPA07-PCR, ERIC-PCR and by sequencing the 16S-23S intergenic regions. Based on the dendrogram, two genetically differentiated clades were observed; 14 isolates were classified as M. bovis and 17 as M. bovoculi. Genetic distances between the M. bovis samples ranged from 0.0379 to 0.4285, while for M. bovoculi the dissimilarities ranged from zero to 0.7297. Alternatively, based on sequencing analyses of the 16S-23S intergenic region, M. bovis and M. bovoculi isolates were grouped into the same two different clades, but it was not possible to differentiate between isolates within clades. PCR techniques were demonstrated to be a satisfactory tool to unravel the genetic variability among Moraxella spp., while sequencing of the 16S-23S intergenic region was only able to differentiate two species of the Moraxella genus. Despite sampling geographically close regions, we demonstrate considerable genetic diversity in M. bovis and M. bovoculi strains and genetically distinct M. bovis strains co-infecting the same animal.