Poultry Science最新文献

{"title":"Prevalence and risk factors for Salmonella infection in layer flocks in Israel between 2018 and 2023.","authors":"Bat Shachaf, Anat Wiseman, Ehud Elnekave","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106686","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106686","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Non-typhoidal Salmonella infections are a leading food-borne zoonosis in which poultry and egg products play an important epidemiological role. Identification of risk factors for Salmonella infections is crucial for reducing Salmonella prevalence and protecting public health. Although Salmonella prevalence in layers is actively monitored, analysis of potential risk factors, particularly those related to proximity to other livestock farms, has not been conducted previously. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and identify risk factors, especially proximity to dairy farms, for Salmonella and its predominant serovars infections in layer flocks in Israel between 2018 and 2023. Overall, 24,500 sampling events from a census of 6,076 laying hen flocks, which were collected as part of the national active Salmonella surveillance program, were included in the cross-sectional analysis. We estimated overall Salmonella prevalence, the prevalence of serovars S. Enteritidis (SE) and S. Typhimurium (ST), and the association between multiple risk factors and infection. Univariable and multivariable mixed-effects regression models were applied, with nested random effects to account for shared locality, farm ownership, and repeated measures. The overall prevalence of positive Salmonella sampling events was 17.74 % (4,347/24,500), and the cumulative flock-level prevalence was 42.56 % (2,586/6,076). SE and ST were detected in 2.98 % (181/6,076) and 2.09 % (127/6,076) of flocks, respectively. Older bird age (>85 weeks), larger flock size (>10,000 hens), caged housing system, and sampling during fall were significantly associated with increased Salmonella detection in the multivariable models (p < 0.05). SE and ST detection was associated with older bird age (>85 weeks) and sampling by the Israeli Veterinary Services vs. Egg and Poultry Board inspectors. These findings emphasize the role of flock management and environmental context in Salmonella complex epidemiology in layer flocks. While the distance to dairy farms may not affect the risk of infection, maintaining smaller flocks (under 10,000 hens) in non-caged systems for shorter production cycles could help lower the prevalence of Salmonella in laying hens.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"106686"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12969611/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147356220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated omics analysis reveals the age-dependent dynamic changes of gut microbiota and metabolites in layer chickens.","authors":"Yuan Su, Xiaohan Mai, Zhouyi Wang, Changchang Feng, Jia Liu, Ziyu Li, Zhiying Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106611","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106611","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The egg production of laying hens shows considerable variation throughout the laying period, which accounts for the majority of their lifespan, making it a critical focus in both production practices and scientific research. In recent years, growing evidence has revealed that gut microbiota plays a key role in chicken health and production. Despite extensive research, knowledge of the relationship between gut microbiota and metabolites, particularly in local layer chicken breeds, is still not well understood. In the present study, we comprehensively investigated the developmental trajectory of the gut microbiome and metabolism through integrated omics analysis combing with 16S rRNA sequencing and LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics across egg-laying stages (17, 50, and 72 weeks of age) in Tianfu powder-shell laying hens. Our results showed that alpha diversity of gut microbiota in chickens gradually increased from 17 weeks to 72 weeks, and the composition of the microbial community exhibited dynamic shifts across different laying periods. In particular, we discovered that Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Synergistes were significantly enriched in the cecum of 17-week-old birds, Lactobacillus was more abundant in the cecum of 50-week-old birds, while Enterococcus was significantly enriched in the feces of 50-week-old birds. Additionally, a total of 421 significantly differential metabolites were identified across the three pairwise comparisons and grouped into eight major clusters. Among them, L-Fucose was enriched in the feces of 17-week-old birds, while lupenone, curcumin, schaftoside, and daidzein showed higher abundance in the feces of 50-week-old birds, and peganine displayed higher abundance in the feces of 72-week-old birds. Integrated omics analysis further demonstrated that Bacillus was positively correlated with lupenone, curcumin, daidzein, and schaftoside. Taken together, our study provides valuable insights into age-associated microbial biomarkers linked to fecal metabolites during the laying hen production cycle, shedding light on potential microbiota-targeted interventions for future application in the poultry production.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"106611"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12925500/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146202447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Crude protein and amino acid digestibility values in broilers for different soybean varieties and/or maturity groups","authors":"Alexis McDade ,&nbsp;Md Raihanul Hoque ,&nbsp;Virginia R. Sykes ,&nbsp;Ali Taheri ,&nbsp;Samuel Nahashon ,&nbsp;Pramir Maharjan","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106593","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106593","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soybeans are the primary protein ingredient source in poultry diets fed as soybean meals (SBM). In a typical corn-soy-based poultry (broiler) diet, SBM contributes up to 70% of dietary crude protein (CP), which dictates the significance of quantity and quality of protein/amino acids (AA) in SBM in dietary formulation. The objective of these studies was to evaluate different varieties of soybean from different maturity groups based on amino acid and protein digestibility <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in-vivo</em> experiments. The soybean varieties that are considered in this study were from different MGs, including MG 3, MG 4, MG 4.5, and MG 5, which are mostly grown in the southeastern region of the United States. First, an <em>in vitro</em> study was conducted using a multi enzyme approach mimicking broiler gut digestion processes to evaluate the digestibility of soybean meal (full-fat and defatted SBM) from 12 different varieties. Second, an <em>in-vivo</em> study with four varieties representing four different maturity groups was selected. A total of 144 birds (Cobb 500) were randomly divided into 4 dietary treatments in cages (six replicate cages per treatment). Semi-purified treatment diets were formulated as follows: TRT1, diet formulated with MG 3 soybean meal; TRT2, diet formulated with MG 4 soybean meal; TRT3, diet formulated with MG 4.5 soybean meal; and TRT4, diet formulated with MG 5 soybean meal. For both experiments, one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple range test was conducted. The in-vitro results showed the highest digestibility values for amino acids for variety 7 of MG 4.5 group than other varieties (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) for full-fat soybeans. The <em>in vivo</em> results showed that the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was lower in TRT3 and TRT4 groups compared to the TRT1 and TRT2 (<em>P</em> = 0.002). Both <em>in-vitro</em> and <em>in-vivo</em> findings implied that soybeans from MGs 4.5 and 5 could have favorable nutritional significance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"Article 106593"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146154267","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":"Single-cell transcriptomics of chicken ovarian cancer identifying immune subsets with prognostic implications","authors":"Guoqiang Zhu ,&nbsp;Susanna Chau Yi Wang ,&nbsp;Hongqin Yao ,&nbsp;Jiliang He ,&nbsp;Jiannan Zhang ,&nbsp;Mao Zhang ,&nbsp;Yajun Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106582","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106582","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ovarian cancer (OC) is a lethal gynecological malignancy with a low 5-year survival rate. The lack of preclinical models accurately capturing OC's early pathogenesis contributes to this poor prognosis. The domestic laying hen uniquely develops spontaneous OC, but its single-cell-level insights for pathogenesis have been lacking. Here, we present the first single-cell transcriptomic atlas of ovarian tissues from 110-week-old laying hens with or without OC. We annotated 12 core cellular lineages and characterized tumor-associated changes, including increased CD4+ and CD8+ <em>T</em> cells and reduced macrophages in OC samples. T cells sub-clustering revealed conserved cell subtype-specific pH homeostasis regulation profiles across species. Notably, gene signatures from the two dominant Cyto_CD8+ subsets exhibited opposing prognostic roles when validated against human OC datasets (GSE18520, GSE26712, GSE49997). This study confirms the laying hen as a valuable OC model by demonstrating cross-species conservation in cellular heterogeneity and oncogenic pathways, advancing it from a pathologically analogous system to a molecularly traceable tool.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"Article 106582"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146154262","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":"Increased activity in broiler chickens is associated with better feed conversion","authors":"Christl A. Donnelly ,&nbsp;Stephen A. Ellwood ,&nbsp;Stephen J. Roberts ,&nbsp;Marian Stamp Dawkins","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106599","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106599","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Farmers are understandably concerned that many proposed improvements to broiler chicken welfare such as ‘enrichments’ lead to the birds being more active, eating more and therefore result in financially detrimental effects on Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR). The current evidence is inconclusive, but most research so far has relied on small-scale pen studies, not flocks studied under commercial conditions. We measured the life-long activity of 34 commercial flocks of Cobb broilers using smart camera technology and analyzed the data using four statistical descriptors of the patterns made by flock movements – mean, variance, skew and kurtosis of optical flow. For each day, we scored each flock by its scaled deviation from the median for each of the four descriptors and gave it 4 overall activity scores, based on its average lifetime deviation from median ([average optical flow value – median]/√median). The results showed that, contrary to widespread concerns, FCR was no higher in more active flocks and that on average more active flocks tended to have lower (i.e. more efficient) FCR (<em>p</em> = 0.060). There were positive correlations between FCR and the lifetime activity score using both the skew of optical flow (<em>r</em> = 0.608, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) and kurtosis (<em>r</em> = 0.603, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001), both suggesting that increasing numbers of active birds within a flock were associated with lower FCR. There were also positive correlations between skew and kurtosis of optical flow and mortality (<em>r</em> = 0.388, <em>p</em> = 0.023 and <em>r</em> = 0.454; <em>p</em> = 0.007) respectively), as well as an even higher correlation between FCR and mortality (<em>r</em> = 0.698; <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001), which suggests that the favorable effect of activity on FCR may at least in part, be via decreased mortality. While not all welfare improvement may result in improvements in FCR, these results show that increased flock activity is not itself the problem that might be feared.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"Article 106599"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172837","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":"Insights into speckled eggs provided by single-cell transcriptomics in high-yield laying hens","authors":"Yan Sun ,&nbsp;Jing Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhongsheng Chen ,&nbsp;Wei Liu ,&nbsp;Haixia Han ,&nbsp;Dan Hao ,&nbsp;Dapeng Li ,&nbsp;Jie Wang ,&nbsp;Jie Liu ,&nbsp;Qiuxia Lei ,&nbsp;Yan Zhou ,&nbsp;Dingguo Cao ,&nbsp;YunChao Wang ,&nbsp;Guiming Li ,&nbsp;Fu Chen ,&nbsp;Fuwei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106581","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106581","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Eggshell quality is a major concern in the poultry industry. The speckle phenotype in eggshell affects eggshell color, thickness, and Haugh Unit (<strong>HU</strong>) and significantly affects the hatchability rate. The rate of speckled eggs increases during the late-laying period, which can lead to notable economic losses. Eggshell speckles have medium heritability; however, the genetic architecture of speckled eggshells remains unclear. In this study, the chickens were divided into two groups based on the rate of egg speckling. Uterine tissues were collected and analyzed using 10X Genomics single-cell RNA sequencing to delineate the molecular signatures of the various cell types. A total of 10 cell types were identified: immune (B, T, monocyte macrophages, and plasma cells), endothelial, epithelial, stromal, neuroendocrine, serous, and protoporphyrin IX pigment cells. The trends of cell type distributions were consistent in two groups. Functional enrichment analysis showed that unique biological processes, such as IgA production and Toll-like C-type lectin receptor signaling pathways, were enriched in immune cells, whereas TGF-beta, Wnt, and NOD-like receptor signaling pathways were enriched in epithelial cells. Subsequently, we identified differentially expressed genes in the two groups, among which <em>SPP1</em> (secreted phosphoprotein 1) was down-regulated in all cell types in the speckled group. The cellular interaction signals of speckled group were significantly enhanced compared to the control group. The cell proliferation and differentiation pathways mediated by WNT, SPP1, and BMP were inhibited and the interaction related to cell migration was activated in the speckled group. This study explored cell heterogeneity, extended prior findings by adding single-cell resolution atlas, and identified cell type specific patterns that can guide future functional studies of speckled eggs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"Article 106581"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172841","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 marine-derived Enterococcus durans YQ-6 on growth performance, intestinal health and microbial community of Leizhou black ducks","authors":"Yufeng Gou ,&nbsp;Jiang Wu ,&nbsp;Qiucheng Yao ,&nbsp;Namula Zhao ,&nbsp;Haiyan Wu ,&nbsp;Zhibao Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106568","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106568","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Under the dual influence of antibiotic restriction policies in animal husbandry, <em>marine-derived Enterococcus durans YQ-6</em> has been considered a promising alternative feed additive. A total of 180 one-day-old male Leizhou black ducks were randomly allocated into five groups: a blank control, three YQ-6 dose groups (1 × 10⁷, 1 × 10⁸, 1 × 10⁹ CFU/kg), and a <em>Lactobacillus acidophilus</em> control group, with six replicates per group. The trial lasted 42 days. The results showed that YQ-6 could significantly increase the body weight and average daily gain of Leizhou black ducks (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) and reduce the feed conversion ratio. The high dose group (M3) significantly increased the dressing percentage, breast muscle rate and leg muscle rate (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), decreased the sheer force and b value of breast muscle and optimized the amino acid composition of muscle, the contents of <span>l</span>-aspartic Acid, alanine and <span>l</span>-Phenylalanine were significantly increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). In addition, YQ-6 could improve intestinal morphology, increase the ratio of villus height to crypt depth, enhance digestion and absorption capacity and regulate the structure of intestinal flora, such as increasing the relative abundance and proportion of Firmicutes and Bacteroides. In conclusion, dietary YQ-6 supplementation, especially at a dose of 1 × 10⁹ CFU/kg, can effectively promote the growth, improve meat quality and enhance intestinal health of Leizhou black ducks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"Article 106568"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146173005","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":"Dietary genistein supplementation enhances reproductive and bone health in late-laying hens","authors":"Jianfang Xu ,&nbsp;Ruitong Li ,&nbsp;Yaqing Liu ,&nbsp;Xinru Wang ,&nbsp;Kang Huang ,&nbsp;Qingyu Zhao ,&nbsp;Tadelle Dessie ,&nbsp;Nicholas Svitek ,&nbsp;Xin Zhao ,&nbsp;Junmin Zhang ,&nbsp;Wei Si","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106554","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106554","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aging in laying hens leads to progressive declines in production performance and egg quality, primarily due to deteriorating ovarian function and bone health. Genistein, a natural isoflavone with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, shows potential as a dietary intervention to alleviate age-related physiological decline. This study evaluated the effects of dietary genistein supplementation on ovarian and skeletal health in aging laying hens. A total of 180 Hy-Line Brown laying hens (60 weeks old) were randomly assigned to either a control group (CON) receiving a basal diet or a genistein group (GEN) supplemented with 20 mg/kg genistein for 15 weeks. Genistein significantly increased HDEP during 66-76 weeks of age, increased HHEP during 66-76 weeks of age, and improved eggshell quality at both 69 and 76 weeks (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). At 76 weeks of age, ovarian histology revealed reduced inflammatory infiltration, increased follicle numbers, and decreased follicular atresia by genistein supplementation. Antioxidant enzyme activities of SOD and CAT were elevated, whereas MDA levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β) were markedly reduced in the GEN group (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). The gene set enrichment analysis (GESA) showed enrichment of pathways related to steroid hormone biosynthesis, MAPK, and TGF-β signaling. Serum levels of LH, FSH, E2, and PROG were increased, whereas ALP and TRAP activities were decreased in the GEN group (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). GEN enhanced bone breaking strength, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone mineral content (BMC). Furthermore, GEN upregulated the expression of estrogen receptors (<em>ERα, ERβ</em>), osteogenic markers (<em>RUNX2, ALP, OCN</em>), and the <em>OPG/RANKL</em> ratio (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that GEN promotes ovarian and skeletal functions, thereby improving laying performance and potentially extending the productive lifespan of aging hens.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"Article 106554"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172899","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":"Corrigendum to \"Effects of dietary ryegrass supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits, and gut microbiota in meat geese\" [Poultry Science, Volume 105, 2026, Article 106035].","authors":"Zhengkun Chen, Tong Liu, Linghong Sun, Yanping Li","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106792","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.106792","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"106792"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819812","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":"Reconsidering amino acid matrix values: 6-phytase benefits beyond phosphorus release but limited growth recovery in lysine-deficient diets","authors":"Cengizhan Mızrak ,&nbsp;Edvin Rey ,&nbsp;Yusuf Cufadar","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106496","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.106496","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The efficancy of commercial 6-phytases in reduced digestible lysine (<strong>dig. Lys</strong>) diets, formulated to the ideal amino acid (<strong>AA</strong>) profile, remains insufficiently studied. A total of 896 Ross 308 broilers were assigned to seven dietary treatments for 41 days (8 replicates × 16 birds). Diets included a positive control (T1; dig. Lys per Ross 308 guidelines, no phytase), a negative control (T2; 3% dig. Lys below guidelines, no phytase), and five NC diets with different 6-phytases (T3–T7). Available phosphorus (<strong>avP</strong>) in T1 and T2 was supplied via dicalcium phosphate, while phytase diets were formulated with matrix contributions of 0.19% calcium (<strong>Ca</strong>), avP, and 0.03% Na. Parameters assessed were performance, intestinal morphology, caecal short-chain fatty acids (<strong>SCFAs</strong>), nutrient digestibility, tibia mineralization, and microbial counts. T1 birds showed significantly higher (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) BW and BWG than all others. Despite partial recovery with phytase, FCR increased (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) by 3.85–5.12% in T3–T7 compared to T1. Acetate and total SCFAs increased in phytase groups (notably T4, T5), while butyrate rose in T5 and T7. T5 birds had the tallest villi, and T4–T5 recorded the largest villus surface area. Tibia ash and P were elevated in T5 and T7. Digestibility of phosphorus, crude protein (<strong>CP</strong>), and dry matter increased with phytase, peaking in T4–T7 (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Aerobic and lactic acid bacteria increased in T4–T7, while coliforms were unaffected. Certain phytases, especially in T4, T5, and T7, improved gut health, nutrient utilization, and bone mineralization in reduced-dig. Lys diets, though growth performance was not fully restored. In conclusion, phytase manufacturers may need to re-evaluate their recommended AA matrix values.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 5","pages":"Article 106496"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146154266","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}