Preliminary Study on the Effect ofBacillus amyloliquefaciensTL on Cecal Bacterial Community Structure of Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Probiotics can promote the health and growth performance of animals through modulation of intestinal microbiota. When used as a feed additive, they have the potential to minimize or abolish the use of antibiotics. In this study, we investigated the effect of the probiotic strain Bacillus amyloliquefaciens TL on the growth performance and cecum microflora composition in Cobb 500 broiler chickens. In total, 180 broilers were randomly divided into three groups—each group comprised 4 pens, and each pen contained 15 chickens. The three groups were fed either a control diet, or a diet supplemented with either the antibiotic chlortetracycline or B. amyloliquefaciens TL. Broilers were weighed, and cecum contents were collected on days 7, 14, 21, and 35, respectively. The broilers in both the antibiotic and probiotic groups exhibited significant weight gain compared with controls, exhibiting increases of 16.02% and 13.40%, respectively, after 35 days (P < 0.01). Similarly, the feed conversion ratio (FCR, 1–35 days) of broilers in the chlortetracycline and B. amyloliquefaciens TL groups was lower than that of the controls. HiSeq high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA of the cecal microbiota was performed on days 7, 14, 21, and 35, respectively. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was higher in the chlortetracycline and B. amyloliquefaciens TL groups than in the control group on days 14, 21, and 35, and especially on day 21. The prevalence of genera Oscillospira, Ruminococcus, Butyricicoccus, and Faecalibacterium (Firmicutes) was higher in the antibiotic and probiotic groups, while that of Bacteroides, Parabacteroides (Bacteroidetes), and Lactobacillus was higher in the control group. In this study, the changes in the microbiota of the probiotic group were similar to those in the antibiotic group. These results suggest that the probiotic strain B. amyloliquefaciens TL can modulate the cecal microbiota of broilers similar to chlortetracycline.

Effects of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus pumilus on Rumen and Intestine Morphology and Microbiota in Weanling Jintang Black Goat

“…The relative abundances of multiple or potential beneficial bacteria were higher at the genus level in the BA and BP groups compared to the control group, including Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Succiniclasticum, unidentified Lachnospiraceae, among others; however, the relative abundances of multiple or potentially pathogenic bacteria were lower in the BA and BP groups compared to the control group, including Pseudomonas, unidentified Enterobacteriaceae, and Klebsiella, among others. These results indicated that feeding weanling goats with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens fsznc-06 or Bacillus pumilus fsznc-09 promoted the growth of probiotics and inhibited pathogenic bacteria growth in the digestive tract, which agrees with a previous report related to feeding broiler chickens and grouper (Epinephelus coioides) with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens TL and Bacillus pumilus SE5 respectively [10,28]. It is well accepted that there is an interaction between microbial communities in rumen and caecum.…”

Effects of laying breeder hens dietary β-carotene, curcumin, allicin, and sodium butyrate supplementation on the jejunal microbiota and immune response of their offspring chicks

“…In this study, we found that the jejunal microbiota of chicks supplemented with ciprofloxacin lactate had higher richness and evenness compared to the cCON and cCCAB groups according to the alpha diversity results ( Table 1 ), and the distribution of the Cipro group individuals in NMDS was distant from that of the cCON and cCCAB groups for beta diversity analysis. Therefore, we suggest that the chicks with ciprofloxacin lactate supplementation might lead to higher richness, evenness, and varied microbial structures in jejunums, similar to the results of a recent study reporting that broiler chickens supplemented with an antibiotic (chlortetracycline) showed significantly increased Chao1 and Shannon diversity indices in cecal microbiota after 14 D of treatment ( Hong et al., 2019 ), and a previous study considered antibiotic therapy as a factor that influenced the intestinal microbial composition ( Cisek and Binek, 2014 ).…”

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens TL Downregulates the Ileal Expression of Genes Involved in Immune Responses in Broiler Chickens to Improve Growth Performance

“…In general, immune system activation is energetically costly, and long-term stimulation can have negative effects on the host [ 24 ]. Our previous study showed that dietary supplementation with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens TL improves the growth of broilers [ 26 ]. We speculated that this phenomenon was due to B. amyloliquefaciens TL, which can alter the gut microbiota and subsequently lower intestinal inflammation and the systemic immune response, diverting more energy toward growth.…”