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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Egg and Poultry Production Safety Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #354027
Title: Establishment of the cecal microbiota of broiler chickens supplemented with sodium butyrate alone or in combination with essential oils and induced to necrotic enteritis

Author
item BORTOLUZZI, CHRISTIANO - University Of Georgia
item Rothrock Jr, Michael
item VIEIRA, B - University Of Georgia
item MALLO, J - Norel Animal Nutrition
item PUYALTO, M - Norel Animal Nutrition
item HOFACRE, CHARLES - Southern Poultry Research, Inc
item APPLEGATE, TODD - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: European Poultry Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2018
Publication Date: 9/17/2018
Citation: Bortoluzzi, C., Rothrock Jr, M.J., Vieira, B.S., Mallo, J.J., Puyalto, M., Hofacre, C., Applegate, T.J. 2018. Establishment of the cecal microbiota of broiler chickens supplemented with sodium butyrate alone or in combination with essential oils and induced to necrotic enteritis. XVth European Poultry Congressp. 104.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of sodium butyrate (SB), and sodium butyrate plus essential oils (carvacrol and ginger; SBEO) on the establishment of the cecal microbiota of broilers induced to necrotic enteritis (NE). Birds were assigned to 4 treatments (8 replicates of 58 birds): unchallenged and unsupplemented control; challenged and unsupplemented control; SB supplementation and challenged; SBEO supplementation and challenged. On d 13, challenged birds were orally inoculated with ~5,000 Eimeria maxima oocysts. On d 18-19, the same birds were exposed to C. perfringens via drinking water. Cecal excreta was collected at d 12, 18, 21, and 28 for microbiota analysis through 16s rRNA sequencing using Illumina platform. All sequence data processing was performed using QIIME v. 1.9.1 software package. NE challenge impaired FCR in the overall experimental period (d 1-41), but SB and SBEO supplementation reverted this effect (P=0.01). The effect of timepoint within each experimental group was evaluated. The inclusion of SB alone or in combination with EO contributed significantly to the establishment of the cecal microbiota, as shown by the diversity indexes. The community structure and abundance of the cecal microbiota were significantly different across the experimental groups and ages. The cecal microbiota in the four ages evaluated was dominated by bacteria belonging to the Phylum Firmicutes, followed by Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. The most abundant genera observed in the cecal microbiota were: Ruminococcus, Lactobacillus, and Bacteroides, followed by unclassified Ruminococcaceae and Clostridiales. In the unchallenged control birds, it was observed that Ruminococcus decreased (P=0.006), whereas Bacteroides and Clostridiales increased (P=0.02) as the birds aged. In the challenged control group, however, it was also observed that the frequency of Coprococcus and Blautia decreased as birds aged (P=0.01) and, Clostridiales did not increase as an effect of age in these group of birds. Supplementation of SB, but not SBEO, increased the frequency of Lactobacillus (P=0.01) on d 12 compared to d 18 and 28, and prevented the reduction in the frequency of Blautia as the birds aged. SB and SBEO improved growth performance of NE challenged broilers, partially due to their modulating effects on the cecal microbiota.