Yeast Culture Improves Egg Quality and Reproductive Performance of Aged Breeder Layers by Regulating Gut Microbes

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary yeast culture (YC) supplementation on egg production, egg quality, reproductive performance, immune functions, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal microbial structure of aged hens. A total of 224 Hy-Line Brown layers (54 weeks old) were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments. The control group was fed a basal diet and the YC group was supplemented with YC at 2.0 g/kg of their diet. Each group had seven replicates with 16 hens each. The study was conducted over a period of 8 weeks. Results indicated that YC addition had no significant effect on laying performance. However, it significantly improved egg quality and hatching rate, enhanced ileum crude fat digestibility, increased the serum parameters of lysozyme (LZM) and total antioxidation capacity (T-AOC) (P < 0.05), and reduced serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels (P < 0.05). Using 16S rRNA analysis, we found that addition of YC significantly altered ileum microbial composition. Linear discriminant analysis of effect size (LEfSe) showed significant enrichment of Bacilli and Lactobacilli in the YC group. PICRUSt analysis of the ileal microbiota found that glutathione metabolism, ubiquinone, and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis protein pathways were highly enriched in the YC group compared with the basal diet group. In summary, the addition of YC can improve egg quality, immune functions, antioxidant capacity, reproduction efficiency, and digestive absorption by increasing the abundance of Lactobacilli and Bacilli. Furthermore, it also improves the biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharide proteins, glutathione metabolism, and the synthesis of ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone metabolic pathways.

Multi-Enzyme Supplementation Modifies the Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Breeding Hens

“…Meanwhile, the PCoA showed a clear separation between the CE and DC groups, which indicated that multiple enzymes could dramatically alter the gut microbiota with increasing microbial evenness without decreasing microbial richness ( Zhang et al, 2017 ). Consistent with the results of previous studies, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla in the ileum of hens, accounting for more than 98% of the total bacteria ( Pan and Yu, 2014 ; Liu et al, 2021 ). The genera Lactobacillus , Enterococcus , Streptococcus , and Faecalicoccus were the signature taxa of the CE group determined using LEfSe (LDA > 4, p < 0.05).…”

“…Additionally, CE administration significantly increased the serum HDL-C and T-AOC content and decreased the AST content. The T-AOC reflects the cumulative effect of all antioxidants in the blood and body fluids ( Suresh et al, 2009 ; Liu et al, 2021 ). Breeding hens frequently face oxidative stress and ovarian aging problems in the later laying stage, which considerably affect their performance and physiology ( Liu et al, 2018 ).…”

Synergy of Dietary Quercetin and Vitamin E Improves Cecal Microbiota and Its Metabolite Profile in Aged Breeder Hens

“…This mechanism promotes chicken performance ( Shang et al, 2013 ). These findings are consistent with those reported by Liu et al (2021) , who stated that dietary yeast culture supplementation, improves the biosynthesis of glutathione metabolism, lipopolysaccharide proteins, and ubiquinone and other terpenoid–quinone metabolic pathways which are prominent pathways associated with immune function, egg production, and reproductive efficiency in aged breeder hens ( Liu et al, 2021 ). Therefore, delta- and gamma-tocopherol, Phylloquinone, Acetylcholine, 3-Succinoylpyridine, and 1-Naphthol were validated and targeted for biosynthetic metabolic pathway engineering to improve the performance, gut health, and egg quality of aged breeder chickens.…”

Active Yeast but Not Henhouse Environment Affects Dropping Moisture Levels in Egg-Laying Hens

“…Numerous studies showed that yeast can improve the richness and evenness of intestinal microbiota and promote production performance and gut health [ 27 , 28 ]. Several previous studies demonstrated that yeast can improve the abundance of Lactobacillus in the gut, which can improve the level of intestinal mucosal immunity and reduce intestinal inflammatory response by regulating the intestinal flora, thereby alleviating DM symptoms [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. As reported previously, anisodamine has been widely used to relieve intestinal, microvascular, and airway smooth muscle spasms and effectively inhibit smooth muscle contractility, GI and sweat secretion [ 14 ].…”

“…Interestingly, compared with the other groups, the probiotics group showed decreased eggshell strength ( p < 0.05). In previous studies, yeast was usually added to the feed, which the chickens consumed and digested slowly [ 11 , 29 ]. However, in this study, yeast was dissolved in water and administered by gavage at two fixed times on each day.…”