Fungal Supplements Alters Chicken Intestinal Microbiome

Chicken intestinal microbiomes are known to enhance chicken health and increase production. Identifying natural supplements that shift bacteria communities in favor of beneficial bacteria is critical. The study is a preliminary investigation on the use of fungal nutritional supplements (FS) to modulate bacteria in chicken guts. 270 day-old broilers were weighed and randomly assigned to 9 different treatments containing FS. Treatments were assigned according to FS incubation times (14-56 days) and levels of inclusion (5 and 10%) into chicken feed as follows-(1) Control FS0, (2) FS1 14 day-5%, (3) FS2-14 day 10%, (4) FS3-28 day 5%, (5) FS4-28 day-10%, (6) FS5-42 day 5%, (7) FS6-42 day 10%, (8) FS7-56 day 5%, and (9) FS8-56 10% day. Changes in bacterial community in the stomach (S) and bursa (B) of experimental chickens were assessed using Next Generation Sequencing approach. Results indicated that all FS, except FS1-S (14 day-5%) and FS4-S (28 day-10%) completely eliminated Mollicutes, a class of stomach pathogens. FS7 (56 days, 5%) reduced clostridia 4.8-fold and 3-fold in the stomach and bursa, respectively. The chicken stomach contained far more diverse bacteria than bursa. Whereas, the overall diversity of bacteria decreased with FS, there was no consistent pattern with incubation time and inclusion level. The abundance of Gammaproteobacteria and unidentified species increased tremendously in both organs, while Bacilli were generally reduced. FS7 (56 days, 5%) showed the most promising result, but needs further research. This study highlights potential benefits from the use of fungal-based supplements as health enhancers in chicken production.