Effects of Wheat Bran and Clostridium butyricum Supplementation on Cecal Microbiota, Short-Chain Fatty Acid Concentration, pH and Histomorphometry in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Feed additives that can improve intestinal health and maintain a diverse and resilient intestinal microbiota of poultry are of great importance. Thus, the current study investigated the effects of a single strain butyric acid-producing Clostridium (C. butyricum) with (symbiotic) or without wheat bran supplementation on cecal microbiota composition and gut health characteristics of broiler chickens. In total, 384 male Ross 308 day-old chickens were divided into four dietary treatment groups and fed ad libitum until day 37 of life. Cecal samples were taken for Illumina sequencing and pH and short-chain fatty acid analyses, as well as for histological analysis at the end of the experimental period. Neither of the supplemented diets improved chicken growth performance. Caecum was dominated by the members of Bacteroidetes phyla followed by Firmicutes in each dietary group. At the genus level, Bacteroides, Oscillospira, Akkermansia, Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcus and Streptococcus genera exceeded 1% relative abundance. Dietary treatment influenced the relative abundance of the Akkermansia genus, which had a lower relative abundance in the C. butyricum group than in the other groups and in the symbiotic group compared to the wheat bran supplemented group. Dietary treatment also altered cecal crypt depth and had a trend to modify the cecal fermentation profile. Additive effects of wheat bran and C. butyricum supplementation were not detected. Our results suggest that Akkermansia muciniphila colonization in chicken can be influenced by diet composition.

Effects of Clostridium butyricum- and Bacillus spp.-Based Potential Probiotics on the Growth Performance, Intestinal Morphology, Immune Responses, and Caecal Microbiota in Broilers

“…Recently, Molnár et al (2020) found that C. butyricum supplementation decreased the relative abundance of caecal Akkermansia spp. in Ross 308 broilers [40].…”

“…Recently, Molnár et al (2020) found that C. butyricum supplementation decreased the relative abundance of caecal Akkermansia spp. in Ross 308 broilers [40]. Jeong and Kim (2014) also confirmed that B. subtilis significantly changed the caecal and faecal microbiota by increasing Lactobacillus number and reducing Escherichia coli counts in birds [18].…”

Modulation of the Intestinal Microbiota by the Early Intervention with Clostridium Butyricum in Muscovy Ducks

“…However, the production of Muscovy ducks has been severely affected by gastrointestinal diseases. C. butyricum has been one of the popular strategies to maintain the gut health of poultry in recent years [11,20,21]. This investigation aimed to determine whether early intervention with C. butyricum could have a beneficial effect on the development of intestinal microbiota in Muscovy ducks.…”

“…We found that early intervention with C. butyricum modulated the intestinal microbiota structure of Muscovy ducklings without significant effects on growth performance. However, several studies have proved that C. butyricum could promote growth performance [1,[9][10][11][12][13]. This might be due to the different supplementary ways and duration of C. butyricum administration.…”

“…It is an important probiotic that exists in the intestine of healthy animals and humans [7] and has been widely used in the livestock industry, including in ducks [8]. In previous studies, it has been found that C. butyricum has positive effects on weaned piglets [9,10], broilers [11,12], ducks [1], shrimps [13], etc. The positive effects include the promotion of animal growth performance, an increase in feed efficiency, the repair of intestinal barrier functions, the improvement of immunity, the optimization of intestinal microflora structure, and the inhibition of pathogenic bacteria [14][15][16].…”