Poultry Science最新文献

{"title":"Boosting antioxidant defense and enhancing product quality by biochar and probiotics under chronic aflatoxicosis in quails","authors":"Majid Raz ,&nbsp;Farzad Bagherzadeh-Kasmani ,&nbsp;Mohammad Amir Karimi-Torshizi ,&nbsp;Mahmoud Ghazaghi ,&nbsp;Amir Mokhtarpour ,&nbsp;Mehran Mehri","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105183","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105183","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aflatoxins, particularly aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), are potent mycotoxins adversely affecting poultry performance, health, and product quality. Mitigation strategies are critical for poultry productivity. This study assessed the efficacy of <em>Prosopis farcta</em> biochar and <em>Lactobacillus fermentum</em> in mitigating AFB₁-induced toxicity in quails, with a focus on performance, antioxidant status, and product quality. Two experiments were conducted with quails during growing (7–35 days) and laying (70–98 days) periods under five dietary treatments: Negative Control (basal diet), Positive Control (AFB₁-contaminated diet), and AFB₁ diets supplemented with Mycofix Plus, biochar, or biochar combined with <em>L. fermentum</em>. Growth performance, antioxidant status, meat and egg quality, and liver enzyme activity were evaluated. AFB₁ significantly impaired performance, reduced meat and egg quality, and elevated oxidative stress and liver enzymes (<em>P &lt;</em> 0.01). Supplementation with biochar, particularly in combination with <em>L. fermentum</em>, significantly alleviated these effects, improving body weight, glutathione peroxidase activity, and reducing malondialdehyde and liver enzyme levels (<em>P &lt;</em> 0.01). Biochar and its combination with <em>L. fermentum</em> effectively mitigated aflatoxicosis in quails, enhancing health and productivity metrics. Integrating biochar and <em>L. fermentum</em> in poultry diets is a promising approach to managing mycotoxin challenges, improving economic and product quality outcomes in poultry systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105183"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143864851","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":"Research Note: A pilot study comparing White Leghorn and Isa Brown breeds under a free-range system on performance, egg quality and pasture characteristics","authors":"Mónica Gandarillas,&nbsp;Raimundo Elizalde,&nbsp;Sebastián Irazábal,&nbsp;Iván Calvache,&nbsp;Juan Pablo Keim,&nbsp;Oscar Balocchi","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105188","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105188","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aim of this study was to assess pasture growth, changes in botanical composition (BC), and the effects of pasture consumption on laying performance and egg quality in Isa Brown (IB) and White Leghorn (WL) hens. A total of thirty 18-week-old hens: 15 IB and 15 WL were used in this experiment which began after a two-week adaptation period. The hens were randomly assigned to three field replicates, each consisting of a 20 m² pasture plot with 5 hens per plot. Each hen was fed a balanced concentrate diet providing 120 g per hen per day. Pasture consumption and plant preference were monitored at 10-day intervals. After each monitoring period, the entire pasture plot was rotated. Pasture consumption, herbage mass and BC were assessed. External and internal egg quality were evaluated at the beginning and at the end of each 10-day period. Isa Brown hens consumed significantly more pasture compared to WL hens, with a mean consumption of 43.9 g per day versus 28.5 g per hen per day, respectively (P &lt; 0.0001). The post-grazing pasture height was 4.31 cm higher in plots grazed by WL hens (10.9 cm) compared to those grazed by IB (6.7 cm). Moreover, botanical composition of the pasture before and after grazing indicated a clear preference for broadleaf species over legumes, and legumes were preferred over grass species by both genotypes. Egg quality results showed that IB vs. WL had greater egg weight (62.01 vs. 58.96 g), egg width (44.18 vs. 43.23 mm), egg shape index (78.96 vs. 77.65%), yolk color (10.13 vs. 8.97 units), yolk index (46.02 vs. 45.46%). In contrast, WL vs. IB was greater in eggshell percentage (9.87 vs. 9.71%), albumen index (13.27 vs. 10.89%) and haugh units (91.21 vs. 86.11). No difference for egg length were found between genotypes. These findings provide valuable insights into the grazing behavior and pasture preferences of different laying hen genotypes, as well as their potential impacts on pasture management and egg production systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105188"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877376","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":"Mitigating T-2 toxin toxicity in Quail: The protective power of sodium butyrate","authors":"Huanni Song ,&nbsp;Xueyan Zhu ,&nbsp;Weiping Hua ,&nbsp;Yihao He ,&nbsp;Yang Liu ,&nbsp;Changyu Cao","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105186","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105186","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As one of the most common worldwide contaminants in agricultural production, the T-2 mycotoxin is commonly found in moldy feed and its raw materials. It can slow the growth and suppress the immune function of farm animals, resulting in reduced economic benefits. As a feed additive, sodium butyrate can enhance immune function. However, the toxicological effects of the T-2 toxin on the spleen, thymus, and bursa of Fabricius and the protective mechanism of sodium butyrate against the T-2 toxin in quails are not known. In this study, 1-day-old Korean quails were fed either with T-2 toxin (0.9 mg/kg) spiked food or with spiked food and sodium butyrate (500 mg/kg) as an antagonist, to construct an experimental animal model. Histopathological changes in the immune organs (spleen, thymus, and bursa of Fabricius) of the quails under sub-chronic toxicity of T-2 toxin were observed after 28 days of continuous treatment. The effects of the T-2 toxin and sodium butyrate on the fibrosis of the immune organs were investigated by MASSON staining and fibrosis gene expression, while the effects of the T-2 toxin and sodium butyrate on apoptosis of the immune organs were investigated by TUNEL assay. The expression of apoptosis-related genes was also measured to evaluate the effects of the T-2 toxin on pathological damage, fibrosis, apoptosis, and CYP450 homeostasis while the antagonistic effect of sodium butyrate on the quail immune organs was also measured. Results showed that sodium butyrate could effectively alleviate pathological damage, fibrosis, apoptosis, abnormal activation of the heterologous nuclear receptor pathway, and the disruption of CYP450 homeostasis induced by the T-2 toxin in quail immune organs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105186"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877542","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":"Genome-wide association study to identify biological and metabolic pathways associated with carcass portion weights in turkeys","authors":"Emily M. Leishman ,&nbsp;Ryley J. Vanderhout ,&nbsp;Benjamin J. Wood ,&nbsp;Christine F. Baes ,&nbsp;Shai Barbut","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105194","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105194","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The application of genetic and genomic improvement strategies in the poultry industry has been widely successful at improving meat yield and efficiency, however some challenges persist. As demand for larger and leaner birds increases, we have not fully assessed how selection for growth affects various carcass portions. The objective of this study was to conduct a genome wide association study (<strong>GWAS</strong>) and functional analysis on turkey carcass portion weights. Phenotypic data consisted of carcass portion weights (fillets, tenders, drums, thighs) obtained at processing (<em>N</em> = 646 – 1,478). Genotypic records were available from a proprietary 65 K single nucleotide polymorphism (<strong>SNP</strong>) chip. A linear mixed model was used to estimate SNP effects and a 30-SNP sliding window approach was used. Across all traits, 14 functional candidate genes (<strong>FCGs</strong>) were identified, and these were predominately associated with protein metabolism and immune function. Interestingly, carcass portions did not share FCGs, except for the thighs and drums, which shared one functional candidate gene (PDGFB). These results add to the understanding of the genetic architecture of carcass portion weights, and this could be applied in a turkey breeding program.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105194"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143878971","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":"Research note: High levels of lead and arsenic in imported dried black soldier fly larvae: implications for backyard poultry supplementation","authors":"Mikayla F.A. Baxter,&nbsp;Alissa H. Moritz","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105184","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105184","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insects provide essential nutrition to poultry, however, the feedstock fed to the insects and the age and method of processing, can significantly impact nutrient and safety levels. The purpose of this research was to examine the nutrient and safety of black solider fly larvae (BSFL). Over a two-year period, 21 BSFL were purchased from retail and online establishments and blindly labeled and sent to accredited laboratories for proximate analysis, heavy metal analysis and antibiotic residues. No samples contained detectable levels of antibiotic residues. On average, Chinese-sourced dried black solider fly larvae (DBSFL), had 25X more lead and 8X more arsenic than North American, both values were statistically different. Chinese-sourced DBSFL had significantly lower phosphorus, protein, magnesium, potassium and manganese as compared to those from North America (p&lt;0.05). While North American DBSFL had significantly lower fat and iron levels than Chinese-sourced DBSFL. Many of the imported products did not have or were not compliant with current US regulatory labeling requirements. The mislabeling and higher levels of heavy metals in DBSFL is concerning as it not only can affect the health of back yard flocks and humans via consumption of eggs from backyard flocks but also has the potential to contaminate the environment. Keywords: Dried black solider fly larva; Heavy Metal; Layer; Backyard chicken</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105184"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143881278","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":"Analysis of comb morphology in Sichuan Mountaineous Black-bone chickens and its correlation with growth performance","authors":"Kunlong Qi ,&nbsp;Juan He ,&nbsp;Felix Kwame Amevor ,&nbsp;Zheliang Liu ,&nbsp;Chencan Zhai ,&nbsp;Yingjie Wang ,&nbsp;Liuting Wu ,&nbsp;Gang Shu ,&nbsp;Xiaoling Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105168","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105168","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biological ornaments, such as the comb in chickens, act as condition-dependent indicators of mate quality and are influenced by genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors. In this study, we investigated the histomorphological development of combs in Sichuan Mountaineous Black-bone chickens and examined their relationship with growth performance and hormone levels. At market age, the chickens were classified into large- and small-comb groups based on comb size, and their skeletal traits, slaughter performance, and meat quality were evaluated. The results showed that male chickens with large combs exhibited significantly better skeletal development, including greater shank circumference, breast depth, and breast circumference, although slaughter traits relative to body weight did not differ significantly. In female chickens, a similar pattern was observed in the large-comb group, but the differences were not statistically significant. Meat quality analysis revealed that male chickens with large combs had higher pH and moisture in breast muscle, while crude protein and crude fat were higher in those with smalle combs. <em>L</em>* value and inosine monophosphate (IMP) were more abundant in the breast muscle of female chickens with large combs. Growth hormone (GH) levels were positively associated with comb traits in both sexes, whereas testosterone showed no significant correlation. Gene expression analysis indicated that <em>BMP2</em> and <em>HSD17B2</em> were upregulated in small-comb chickens, while chondroadherin-like (<em>CHADL</em>) was upregulated in large-comb chickens. These findings enhance our understanding of the biological basis of comb development and its link to growth performance, offering useful insights for improving productivity in poultry through ornamental trait selection and economic and scientific values.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105168"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143855016","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":"The chicken major histocompatibility complex (MHC-B) and alloantigen systems A, D, E, and I impact resistance to coccidiosis","authors":"Abhisek Niraula ,&nbsp;Anna Wolc ,&nbsp;Janet E. Fulton ,&nbsp;Robert L. Taylor Jr. ,&nbsp;Rami A. Dalloul","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105151","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105151","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coccidiosis, a major poultry protozoal disease caused by several <em>Eimeria</em> species, compromises gut health causing significant losses. This study assessed the association of haplotypes of the major histocompatibility complex (<strong>MHC</strong>) and other blood alloantigens found in commercial egg production chickens with resistance to coccidiosis. Pedigreed White Leghorn offspring segregating for the MHC-B region, plus four additional alloantigen systems A (C4BPM), D (CD99), E (FCAMR), and I (RHCE) were tested for differential resistance to coccidiosis in five 26-day (d) trials (n= 235 birds in total). On d 19, all birds were inoculated with a cocktail of <em>E. acervulina, E. maxima</em>, and <em>E. tenella</em> oocysts and allocated to individual cages. Phenotypes evaluated included body weight gain (<strong>BWG</strong>), feed intake (<strong>FI</strong>), feed conversion ratio (<strong>FCR</strong>), gross and microscopic lesion scores (<strong>GLS</strong> and <strong>MLS</strong>), and oocyst shedding (oocysts per gram, <strong>OPG</strong>). Haplotypes of the five blood systems were determined by SNP genotyping. A positive and negative association means an increase and decrease in a phenotypic trait, respectively, with each additional copy (0, 1 or 2) of a given haplotype. Results were considered statistically significant at <em>P</em> ≤ 0.05. The CD99-H01 haplotype association was positive with BWG but negative with FCR. Genotype B21B21 had the highest GLS in the jejunum establishing a positive association between MHC B21 and jejunal GLS. Further, the B12B15 genotype had a lower <em>E. maxima</em> OPG compared with the B12B21 genotype. The I system I-H01 haplotype had a negative association with jejunal and cecal GLS. Duodenal GLS was lower in E-H02/H02 compared to the E-H07/H07 genotype of the E system. Haplotypes B21, blood systems D-H01, E-H02, and I-H01 were associated with improved resistance to coccidiosis. The association of specific haplotypes of the MHC-B and other alloantigen systems D, E, and I with resistance and susceptibility traits during mixed <em>Eimeria</em> infection underscores the need for further investigations of these haplotypes’ effects on coccidiosis resistance in commercial lines, validating the inclusion of different blood systems in selection programs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105151"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143864219","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":"Effectiveness of sanitizers on different biofilm-forming microorganisms associated with the poultry drinking water system","authors":"Tolulope T. Ogundipe ,&nbsp;Tomi Obe","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105122","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105122","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sanitation of the poultry drinking water system (DWS) is essential to controlling pathogens and biofilms in the DWS. Intervention approaches including several sanitizers have been developed, but there is limited information on the efficacy of some of these sanitizers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of peracid-based (PAB), peroxide-based (PB), and hypochlorite-based (HB) sanitizers against field-isolated <em>Salmonella</em> (10), <em>E. coli</em> (2) and <em>Bacillus</em> (2), along with their antibiofilm effects on six of these bacterial strains on polyvinylchloride (PVC), a common DWS pipe material. The minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) were determined using the microdilution broth method. For biofilm production, PVC rings were inoculated (5-6 Log₁₀ CFU/mL) in buffered peptone water, incubated at 30°C for 48 h, and detached with cotton swabs for quantification. The antibiofilm effect of the sanitizers was further assessed at MIC, 2X-MIC, 4X-MIC, and water (control). Data was analyzed using ANOVA and Least squares in JMP Pro 18. The MIC and MBC of PAB for all isolates ranged from 11.36 to 28.42 ppm, PB from 15.26 to 71.21 ppm, and HB was 106.67 to 350 ppm. <em>Bacillus licheniformis</em> formed the most biofilm (5.39 Log₁₀ CFU/mL) as single-species bacteria while <em>Salmonella</em> attached more (6.36 Log₁₀ CFU/mL) than <em>E. coli</em> (5.41 Log₁₀ CFU/mL) and <em>Bacillus</em> (2.08 Log₁₀ CFU/mL) when grown together in mixed cultures. PAB and HB eliminated the biofilms of all strains tested at MIC in mixed-species cultures while PB had no significant effect. Overall, PAB demonstrated the greatest potential as a DWS sanitizer, showing superior efficacy against planktonic and biofilm cells compared to PB and HB. This research highlights the importance of targeted microbial profiling and sanitizer efficacy testing for pre-harvest pathogen control, providing valuable insights for enhancing food safety in poultry production systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105122"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143868245","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":"Adenosine deaminase promotes goose astrovirus genotype II replication in GEF cells","authors":"Saimin Zhai ,&nbsp;Ruixue Li ,&nbsp;Keying Liu ,&nbsp;Huichao Gao ,&nbsp;Xia Yang ,&nbsp;Jun Zhao ,&nbsp;Xiaozhan Zhang ,&nbsp;Zeng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105176","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105176","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Goose astrovirus genotype II (<strong>GAstV-II</strong>), the causative agent of visceral and joint gout in goslings, has been widespread in China since 2016 and resulted in considerable economic losses to waterfowl industry. As an important enzyme involved in purine metabolism and uricogenesis, adenosine deaminase (<strong><em>ADA</em></strong>) is reported to be upregulated via GAstV infection. However, knowledge about the regulatory role of ADA played during virus replication is still limited. In the present work, goose ADA (<strong><em>gADA</em></strong>) was firstly cloned from goose embryo fibroblasts (<strong>GEF</strong>) and phylogenetic analysis showed that it was highly homologous with duck <em>ADA</em>, sharing 96.6 % identity in nucleotide sequences. Moreover, GAstV-II infection promoted the production of <em>gADA</em> but did not change its cellular distribution pattern, which was evenly dispersed in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Further results demonstrated that ectopic expression of <em>gADA</em> significantly enhanced viral capsid protein expression and virus loads in GEF cells. Conversely, knockdown of <em>gADA</em> by siRNA played the opposite role in virus replication. Notably, <em>gADA</em> could directly interact with viral capsid protein, particularly with its C-terminal domain. Our data elucidated the regulatory role of <em>gADA</em> during GAstV-II infection, thereby laying a solid foundation to further explore its pathogenesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105176"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143886797","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":"Lack of consistency in poultry dust microbial taxa associated with high and low-performing commercial broiler flocks","authors":"Shanshan He ,&nbsp;Yugal Raj Bindari ,&nbsp;Thi Thu Hao Van ,&nbsp;Robert J. Moore ,&nbsp;Priscilla F. Gerber","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105173","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2025.105173","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The microbial communities of the gastrointestinal tract play an essential role in poultry health and productivity. Poultry dust has been used to investigate bacterial taxa associated with performance in commercial broiler farms. This study investigated the commonalities of poultry dust microbial taxa associated with performance in samples collected from three broiler integrator companies and their stability in a successive flock of the same companies using deep sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Poultry dust samples (<em>n</em> = 248) were collected on days 14 and 35 of the production cycle from 38 commercial broiler flocks (2 flocks from each of 19 farms). The farms were ranked as low or high performers based on the feed conversion ratio corrected for body weight. Permutational analysis of variance based on Bray-Curtis index using abundance data for bacterial community structure results showed that company explained the most variation in the bacterial community structure (7.5 %), followed by bird age (2 %) and the least variation was explained by performance (1.9 %), with significant interactions among these factors (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). No bacterial taxa in high or low-performing farms overlapped in all three companies or successive flocks from the same company. Some taxa associated with high performance in a company were associated with low performance in another company (e.g., <em>Bifidobacterium</em>), corroborating other studies highlighting the lack of universal microbial markers of productivity. In conclusion, there were no consistent microbial taxa across companies and flocks within a company under the conditions of this study.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"104 7","pages":"Article 105173"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143855017","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}