Abstract
Simple SummaryChickens evolved for millions of years to be hatched in a nest in contact with an adult hen. However, current commercial production of chickens is based on hatching chicks in a clean hatchery environment in the absence of adult hens. The ancestors of domestic chickens inhabited a living environment different from that used for current commercial production. Currently, the lifespan of broilers is around 5 weeks, the lifespan of egg layers is around one year while chickens can live for 15–20 years. This means that studies on chicken–microbiota interactions are of specific importance. The intestinal tract of commercially hatched chicks is gradually colonised from environmental sources only, however, if the chicks are provided experimentally with microbiota from a hen they can be colonised by adult-type microbiota from the very first days of life and become resistant to infections with pathogenic Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, or Salmonella. Because of such specificities in the interactions of chickens with their gut microbiota, current knowledge in this area is critically presented in this review.Studies analyzing the composition of gut microbiota are quite common at present, mainly due to the rapid development of DNA sequencing technologies within the last decade. This is valid also for chickens and their gut microbiota. However, chickens represent a specific model for host–microbiota interactions since contact between parents and offspring has been completely interrupted in domesticated chickens. Nearly all studies describe microbiota of chicks from hatcheries and these chickens are considered as references and controls. In reality, such chickens represent an extreme experimental group since control chicks should be, by nature, hatched in nests in contact with the parent hen. Not properly realising this fact and utilising only 16S rRNA sequencing results means that many conclusions are of questionable biological relevance. The specifics of chicken-related gut microbiota are therefore stressed in this review together with current knowledge of the biological role of selected microbiota members. These microbiota members are then evaluated for their intended use as a form of next-generation probiotics.
Highlights
Chickens represent one of the most widespread farm animals worldwide
Incubated eggs were in intimate contact with the adult hen for 21 days of embryonic development and the same was true for newly hatched chicks—these were in contact with the adult hen from the very first moments of their life
Used in the vast majority of experiments are hatched in hatcheries while chickens Animals 2020, 10,chickens evolved to be hatched in nests in contact with adult hens which act as a source of gut microbiota
Summary
Chickens represent one of the most widespread farm animals worldwide. Domestication of chickens started approximately 5000 years ago and since that time, chicken eggs and meat have become a common source of animal protein for humans. The lifespan of meat types2of chickens in commercial production is around 5 weeks while chickens reach sexual maturity around week 18 of life. The lifespan of egg layers in commercial production is around one year while red around 5 weeks while chickens reach sexual maturity around week 18 of life. Consideration of these facts has broad consequences for chicken welfare, resistance to enteric These facts are commonly forgotten and ignored though correct consideration of these facts has broad diseases and production. Serious consideration of these facts may prevent trivial mistakes in consequences for chicken welfare, resistance to enteric diseases and production. The composition and function of the main chicken gut microbiota members
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