Poultry Science最新文献

{"title":"Integrating gut microbiome and serum metabolomes to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of Lactiplantibacillus Plantarum PA01 against deoxynivalenol-induced liver injury in broilers.","authors":"Huimei Wang, Haotian Zhang, Tingting Shi, Wenye Zhang, Yanli Liu, Qihang Hou, Fangyu Long, Xin Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107967","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107967","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination is a significant challenge in broilers, which has a negative impact on liver function and health, endangering broiler production. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of L. plantarum PA01 in mitigating DON-induced liver injury and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. A total of 144 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were divided into three groups: the control group receiving only a basal diet, the DON group (5 mg DON/kg diet), and the DP group (1 × 10⁹ cfu L. plantarum PA01/g diet + 5 mg DON/kg diet). The results showed that L. plantarum PA01 supplementation significantly restored the growth performance in the broilers fed a DON-contaminated diet. Notably, DON exposure induced liver injury, as evidenced by hepatocellular damage, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response. Whereas L. plantarum PA01 supplementation significantly ameliorated these pathological alterations by restoring hepatic morphology, enhancing antioxidant capacity, and suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Jejunal microbiota analysis revealed that L. plantarum PA01 effectively reversed DON-induced jejunal microbial dysbiosis, as characterized by reduced pathogenic taxa (Clostridium perfringens and Staphylococcus) and increased beneficial genera (Ligilactobacillus and Lactobacillus). Serum metabolomics further revealed L. plantarum PA01 rectified DON-induced metabolic disturbances, particularly in oxidative phosphorylation and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Among the differential metabolites, the dipeptide Glu-Phe was identified as a candidate mediator, which was positively correlated with beneficial jejunal bacteria and liver antioxidant gene expression. This was further supported by an in vitro assay, where Glu-Phe similarly upregulated the expression of antioxidant-related genes in DON-treated LMH cells. Overall, L. plantarum PA01 could mitigate DON-induced liver injury in broilers by restoring jejunal microbial compositions, elevating serum Glu-Phe levels, and enhancing the liver antioxidant capacity.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107967"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Low crude protein with moderate net energy and digestible lysine improves gut health and nutrient transport in broilers.","authors":"Minhao Zhang, Li Chen, Tahir Mahmood, Yves Mercier, Jianmin Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107968","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study used response surface methodology based on a Box-Behnken design to investigate the individual and interactive effects of dietary net energy (NE), crude protein (CP), and standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID Lys) on intestinal health in male broilers from 22 to 35 days of age. A total of 936 22-day-old Cobb 500 male broilers were assigned to 13 dietary treatments varying in NE (2,200, 2,290, and 2,380 kcal/kg), CP (18%, 19.5%, and 21%), and SID Lys (1.08%, 1.14%, and 1.20%). At 35 days of age, intestinal morphology and the jejunal mRNA expression of barrier-related and nutrient transporter genes were measured. A significant NE × SID Lys interaction was observed for duodenal villus height (P < 0.05). Under low-NE conditions, villus height was quadratically affected by increasing SID Lys, whereas the opposite trend was observed under high-NE conditions. MUC2 mRNA expression was affected by NE × SID Lys and CP × SID Lys interactions (P < 0.05), and increased MUC2 mRNA expression in response to SID Lys was observed only under low-NE or high-CP conditions. Nutrient transporters expression was also influenced by a CP × SID Lys interaction, and increased LAT1 and B⁰AT mRNA expression was observed when high CP was combined with high SID Lys or when low CP was combined with low SID Lys (P < 0.05). GLUT2 mRNA expression was significantly decreased by increasing NE levels (P < 0.05). Response surface optimization indicated that a combination of 2,290 kcal/kg NE, 18% CP, and 1.08-1.14% SID Lys effectively supported intestinal morphology, barrier function, and nutrient transport in 22- to 35-day-old broilers fed low-protein diets. These findings indicate that moderate reductions in CP and SID Lys, when balanced with appropriate NE levels, may maintain intestinal health without compromising key physiological functions, and that the nutritional optima for intestinal health differs from those for maximum growth performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107968"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Market-age growth performance following in-ovo interventions in commercial broilers: A meta-analysis.","authors":"Liang-En Yu, Ti-Chun Chang, Yuan-Yu Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107964","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In-ovo intervention has been investigated as an early-life strategy to influence post-hatch development, but its effects on growth performance at commercial market age remain inconsistent. This meta-analysis aimed to quantitatively synthesize BW, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and breast muscle yield at d 35 and d 42 in commercial broilers. A total of 1,409 records were identified in the initial database search, of which 38 studies met the eligibility criteria. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted separately according to assessment age and comparator, while broiler strain, intervention category, and injection timing were explored as potential sources of heterogeneity. Compared with Non-injection, In-ovo intervention was associated with higher BW on d 35 (Hedges's g = 0.686, 95% CI: 0.066 to 1.306, P = 0.03, I² = 84.55%, n = 12) and d 42 (Hedges's g = 0.811, 95% CI: 0.086 to 1.536, P = 0.028, I² = 86.71%, n = 13), and lower FCR on d 35 (Hedges's g = -0.358, 95% CI: -0.671 to -0.044, P = 0.025, I² = 21.67%, n = 11) and d 42 (Hedges's g = -0.565, 95% CI: -0.852 to -0.277, P < 0.001, I² = 0%, n = 10). Compared with Control-sham, significant pooled effects were detected only for BW on d 42 (g = 0.420, P = 0.042) and FCR on d 35 (g = -0.274, P = 0.036), but not for BW on d 35 or FCR on d 42. No significant pooled effect was detected for d 42 breast muscle yield compared with Control-sham (Hedges's g = -0.041, 95% CI: -0.27 to 0.188, P = 0.724, I² = 5.58%, n = 6) or Non-injection (g = -0.153, P = 0.291). Exploratory subgroup analyses identified significant between-subgroup differences by broiler strain and intervention category in selected BW and FCR comparisons (P = 0.006-0.030). Injection timing was significantly associated with d 42 FCR effect size relative to Control-sham (β = -0.1663, P = 0.0004), but not with other analyzed outcomes. No significant pooled differences in BW or FCR were detected between Control-sham and Non-injection. Overall, these findings provide quantitative evidence of potential market-age benefits from In-ovo interventions, while highlighting the need for standardized experimental designs and independent validation of specific intervention conditions to support reliable commercial application.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107964"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149207848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating broiler performance through yield, product quality, and economic value.","authors":"Hudson T Thames, Haley Nabors, Jonathan Moon","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107934","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107934","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Broiler production has been optimized for maximum biological output, particularly breast meat yield; however, the economic implications of increased yield in the presence of quality defects are often not integrated into comprehensive evaluations of performance. The objective of this study was to integrate processing yield, myopathy incidence, and economic weighting into an expected value (EV) framework to evaluate broiler performance based on retained value rather than total output. A total of 768 broilers from two populations were evaluated across two production cycles. Carcass yield, parts yields, and the incidence of breast myopathies were assessed, and relationships among variables were explored using correlation and regression analyses. Expected value modeling was applied by combining predicted breast yield with woody breast (WB) severity distributions and value-based weighting factors. Population A had greater breast yield than population B (30.9 vs. 29.9 %; p = 0.001) and a stronger relationship between breast wt and carcass wt (R² = 0.97 vs. 0.28), but also greater incidence of moderate and severe WB. Consequently, value-adjusted breast mass was maximized at a chilled carcass wt of approximately 3.50 kg for population A (0.64 kg) and 3.05 kg for population B (0.89 kg). These findings indicate that increased biological output does not necessarily correspond to increased value-adjusted output when product quality is considered. Integrating biological performance and product quality within an economic framework provides a more comprehensive evaluation of broiler production and supports value-based decision-making.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107934"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149184053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biosecurity implementation in indoor and outdoor-access broiler production systems in the Netherlands.","authors":"Yasmin Bakhshi, Egil A J Fischer, Jan van den Broek, J Arjan Stegeman, Francisca C Velkers","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107951","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107951","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Good biosecurity practices on poultry farms can improve animal health, welfare, and productivity, but implementation varies considerably between farms. Recurrent highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks and the expansion of higher-welfare systems with outdoor access have raised concerns about potential differences in exposure risk. However, it remains unclear to what extent biosecurity implementation differs between production systems. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted to assess HPAI-related biosecurity practices and risk factors in Dutch broiler farms, comparing intensive systems (indoor-only) and extensive systems (slower-growing broilers with covered outdoor access). The study included 78 farms (63 intensive and 15 extensive). Biosecurity was assessed using a harmonized subset of the Biocheck.UGent survey. From 40 comparable variables, 28 were selected based on relevance to HPAI introduction and transmission pathways. Differences between production systems were evaluated using Bayesian logistic regression with horseshoe priors. Most biosecurity measures did not differ substantially between systems, with considerable variation observed within both intensive and extensive farms. The largest estimated differences involved carcass storage cleaning, stocking density, and chick delivery frequency, although the statistical support for these differences varied. Stocking density and delivery frequency reflected structural differences between systems, whereas carcass storage cleaning reflected differences in management practices. These findings suggest that interventions targeting farm-specific weaknesses, supported by tailored biosecurity plans and on-site coaching, are likely to be more effective than system-based recommendations alone.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107951"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149207809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Profiling the DuCV-1 Cap-associated host interactome by Co-IP/LC-MS: implications for host-response pathways and viral pathogenesis.","authors":"Cui Lin, Jia Tan, Lengmei Wang, Chengcheng Wu, Fanfan Zhang, Na Li, Wenjing Song, Meifang Tan, Jiangnan Huang, Haiqin Li","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107946","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107946","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Duck circovirus genotype 1 (DuCV-1) infection is a severe immunosuppressive disease that significantly impairs poultry growth. As the sole structural protein and major immunogen of DuCV-1, the capsid protein (Cap) plays a critical role in viral infection and pathogenesis. Elucidating the interactions between Cap and host proteins is essential for revealing the molecular basis of DuCV-1 pathogenicity. In this study, we performed, for the first time, using immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) to identify 288 potential host proteins that interact with Cap in Cap-transfected HD11 cells. Integrative analyses of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, Gene Ontology (GO) annotation, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment showed that Cap-interacting host proteins are functionally enriched in multiple biological processes, including cytoskeleton remodeling, nucleic acid translation apparatus, endocytic trafficking, autophagy, and innate immune signaling. Further functional enrichment analyses confirmed that these Cap-binding factors are predominantly enriched in pathways associated with cytoskeleton remodeling, protein translation, transcriptional regulation, and DNA damage response. Moreover, we verified the binding of nine candidate Cap-interacting proteins to DuCV-1 Cap, including RB1-inducible coiled-coil 1, Exocyst complex component 1, Tubulin alpha-1A chain, Transcription factor E2F8, Nucleolar and coiled-body phosphoprotein 1, Ubiquitin-protein ligase E3B, DNA repair protein RAD52 homolog, Junction plakoglobin, and Tubulin alpha-1C chain. Collectively, the interactome dataset and network analysis provide new insights into the potential pathogenic mechanisms of DuCV-1.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107946"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149207903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phytogenic supplementation mitigates necrotic enteritis in broilers through modulation of gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, and nutrient-related gene expression.","authors":"Most Khairunnesa, Alip Kumar, Shu-Biao Wu, Thi Thu Hao Van, Kowsig Palanisamy, Kosar Gharib-Naseri","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107955","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>With the withdrawal of antibiotic growth promoters, phytogenic compounds have gained attention as potential alternatives for enhancing gut health and modulating the intestinal microbiota. This study investigated the effects of a phytogenic blend (PHB) containing thymol, oleic acid, capric acid, and refined sunflower fat on cecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), jejunal gene expression, and cecal microbiota composition in broiler chickens under necrotic enteritis (NE) challenge. A total of 450 d-old mixed-sex Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to three treatments: non-challenged control without additives (NC), NE-challenged control without additives (CC), and NE-challenged supplemented with 0.01% phytogenic blend (PHB). Birds in challenge groups were orally inoculated with Eimeria spp. on d9 and Clostridium perfringens on d14 to induce NE. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, and mean separation was performed by Tukey's test (P < 0.05). Microbiota composition was assessed through 16S rRNA sequencing, and downstream microbiome analyses and visualization were performed using R version 4.6.1 (R Core Team, 2026) in RStudio. The NE challenge upregulated interferon-gamma (IFN-γ; P < 0.05), downregulated claudin 5 (CLDN5; P < 0.05) and immunoglobulin M (IgM; P < 0.05) genes, and significantly increased iso-butyric, iso-valeric, and valeric acid concentrations compared to the NC group (P < 0.05). Moreover, it reduced microbial diversity (P < 0.05) and increased the abundance of potentially pathogenic genera, including Clostridium sensu stricto 1, and Escherichia Shigella. The dietary PHB significantly reduced the concentrations of iso-butyric, iso-valeric, and valeric acids, and increased lactic and succinic acids (P < 0.05), and upregulated APN (P < 0.05). l-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) showed an intermediate response in the PHB group and did not reach statistical significance compared to CC (P > 0.05). Furthermore, PHB did not significantly affect IFN-γ, CLDN5, or IgM levels (P > 0.05). Microbiota analysis revealed distinct β-diversity clustering between CC and PHB groups and increased abundance of beneficial bacterial taxa in the PHB group, including Tyzzerella, Lactobacillus, Anaerostipes, Ruminococcus_torques_group, Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum, with an elevated Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio. These findings suggest that PHB supplementation alleviated NE-induced gut dysbiosis and metabolic disruption by promoting beneficial bacteria, improving SCFA profiles, and enhancing mucosal gene expression related to digestion.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107955"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification and whole-genome sequencing of blood-brain barrier-penetrating Riemerella anatipestifer isolated from chickens and ducks.","authors":"Xinran Li, Ying Cheng, Shiqian Dang, Jiawei Wang, Kaisu Yang, Haonan Guo, Ruihua Zhang, Shijin Jiang, Yu Meng","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107944","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107944","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Riemerella anatipestifer (RA) is a major cause of bacterial meningitis, which poses a serious threat to the poultry industry. To identify RA strains with a strong ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and analyze their genomic characteristics, a co-infection model was established using multiple RA strains with different serotypes in this study. We found that during co-infection with multiple RA strains, certain RA strains rapidly penetrated the BBB and were recovered from brain tissue as early as 0.25 h post-infection. The pioneer strains were selected to further evaluate their BBB-penetrating capacity and pathogenicity in vivo and in vitro. Whole-genome sequencing of three pioneer strains and one RA strain that couldn't penetrate the BBB revealed that these strains had circular chromosomes of 2.14-2.28 Mb, encoding 1,982-2,137 protein-coding genes. All strains carried 40 tRNA genes and 9 rRNA genes, and contained 9-15 genomic islands. Comparative genomic analysis revealed variation in orthogroup composition among the four strains, with strain-specific distributions of resistance genes (24-29 per strain) and virulence genes (4-57 strain-specific genes), alongside variable transposon and IS element profiles. Comparative genomic analysis further uncovered strain-specific distributions of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes, underscoring the genomic plasticity among these isolates. In summary, these findings provide a comprehensive phenotypic and genomic characterization of RA strains with strong BBB-penetrating ability, providing a foundation for future mechanistic studies on RA BBB penetration.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107944"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of chromium propionate on Tom Turkey performance and removal rates during a 19-week production cycle.","authors":"Brooke A Wilson, Brett C Ramirez, Mary Sue Mayes, Karen Vignale, Jerry W Spears, Dawn A Koltes","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107937","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107937","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chromium propionate (Cr Prop) is a highly bioavailable form of Cr that has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity in turkeys. Studies have indicated that Cr may mitigate the impacts of stress in broilers and layers. Turkey production can involve stress-inducing events that can negatively impact growth performance and overall production efficiency. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of dietary Cr Prop supplementation on growth performance, turkey removal rate, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in turkeys over a 19-wk period. Additionally, circulating corticosterone concentrations were evaluated at 4, 5, 6, and 18 wks. Toms (n=960) were assigned to either a control (CON) or Cr Prop supplemented diet (CHR; KemTRACE® Cr Prop) containing 0.20 mg Cr/kg diet from placement through 19 wk of age. Body weight, feed intake and FCR were measured at feed phase changes. Turkey removals were recorded and assigned cause of removal. Chromium fed turkeys exhibited higher BW in early (wk 5; P = 0.001) and mid-growth phases (wk 14 and 17; P < 0.050). Turkey removals were reduced in CHR-fed birds between wk 5-8 and 14-17 (P < 0.014), with toms culled due to lameness being greater in those fed the control diet. To compensate for differences in stocking density, weight (kg) per pen area (m²) was calculated during the different phases in the grower. Toms fed the CHR diets had greater kg/m² during all grower phases (P < 0.03). As these changes in performance may be due to changes in stress of the bird, circulating corticosterone concentrations were measured. Hours after moving to the grower (5 wk of age), toms fed the CHR diets tended to have decreased circulating corticosterone concentrations (P = 0.099); however, this tendency was reversed (P = 0.079) at 6 wk of age. The supplementation of Cr Prop increased survivability of turkeys due to decreased lameness and resulted in more weight per area of barn.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107937"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149216641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of enzymolytic soybean meal on growth performance, intestinal morphology, cecal microbiota, and short‑chain fatty acids in broilers.","authors":"Dongfeng Fan, Fengyang Wu, Baojiang Chen, Yajuan Liu, Shuaijuan Han, Fengxia Wang, Zhonghua Wei, Saijuan Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107954","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107954","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A 42‑d experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacing dietary soybean meal with enzymolytic soybean meal (ESBM) on growth performance, intestinal morphology, cecal microbiota, and short‑chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in broilers. A total of 400 one‑day‑old male Cobb broilers were randomly assigned to 5 groups, each with 8 replicates of 10 birds. The control group received a corn‑soybean meal basal diet, and the four experimental groups (T1, T2, T3, T4) were fed diets in which 1 %, 2 %, 3 %, or 4 % ESBM replaced an equal amount of soybean meal, respectively. The results showed that, compared with the control group, broilers in the T3 group had a higher average daily gain (ADG) and a lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) during d 22 to 42 (P < 0.05). The T3 group also exhibited increased duodenal villus height and villus‑height‑to‑crypt‑depth ratio (P < 0.05), and a marked elevation in the relative abundance of cecal Alistipes (P < 0.05). In the T4 group, the cecal propionate concentration was significantly higher than that of the control (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis revealed a positive association between the relative abundance of Alistipes and propionate concentration (P < 0.05). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that moderate inclusion of ESBM (3 %) improves late‑phase growth performance, enhances duodenal morphology, and beneficially modulates cecal microbiota and propionate production in broilers.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 12","pages":"107954"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}