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Abstract
To understand the effectiveness of a probiotic mixture on intestinal morphology, mucus layer composition, and cecal microbiota diversity, 40 10-day-old Guinea fowls (Numida meleagris) were assigned to two groups: the control group (C), receiving drinking water, and the treated group (P), receiving water plus a commercial multi-strain probiotic (Slab51®, 2 × 1011 CFU/L). Birds were slaughtered after 4 months, and the intestines were collected. Samples from the duodenum, ileum, and cecum were processed for morphological and morphometric studies, and conventional glycohistochemistry. Cecal samples were also used to assess the microbiota by 16S metataxonomic approach. Group P showed significant increase in the villus height (p < 0.001 in the duodenum and p < 0.05 in the ileum and cecum), villus width (p < 0.05 in all investigated tracts), depth of crypts (p < 0.001 in the duodenum and cecum; p < 0.05 in the ileum), and goblet cells per villus (p < 0.001 in all investigated tracts) compared with group C. Cecal microbiota of the birds varied considerably and comparing the relative abundance of the main observational taxonomic units (OTUs), a positive enrichment of several beneficial taxa, such as Oscillospira, Eubacterium, Prevotella, and members of the Ruminococcaceae, was observed. The enrichment of those taxa can improve microbiota stability and resilience facing environmental stresses, enhancing its resistance against invading pathogens. Ruminococcaceae, which represent the most important taxon in both groups, and Prevotella have a key role in the gut physiology due to the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are a vital energy source for enterocytes, improve glucose metabolism, and exert an overall anti-inflammatory effect. Probiotic administration enriches the presence of Coprococcus, Oscillospira, and Eubacterium taxa that produce butyrate, which exerts a beneficial effect on growth performance, structure of villi, and pathogen control and has anti-inflammatory properties too. This study indicates that Slab51® supplementation positively affects the morphology and microbiota diversity of the guinea fowl intestine.
Highlights
Considering the increasing consumer demand for “natural” products, and the ban of antibiotics in livestock and poultry breeding in many countries [1], the use of probiotics has increasingly been considered a profitable opportunity to obtain mutual benefit for both consumers and industries and for poultry well-being [2].Probiotics are live microorganisms, which, administered in adequate amounts, have a positive effect on the health and growth efficiency of the host by influencing gut microbiota or modifying immune status, as well as by stimulating digestive processes [2,3,4,5]
The significant difference in villus height (VH) observed in the cecum (p < 0.05) was potentially a false positive based on the adjustment of the p-value for multiple comparisons (q > 0.05)
This study demonstrated that a dietary probiotic complex containing Streptococcus, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus strains improves histomorphometric characteristics of the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) intestine and induces modification in cecum microbiota
Summary
Considering the increasing consumer demand for “natural” products, and the ban of antibiotics in livestock and poultry breeding in many countries [1], the use of probiotics has increasingly been considered a profitable opportunity to obtain mutual benefit for both consumers and industries and for poultry well-being [2].Probiotics are live microorganisms, which, administered in adequate amounts, have a positive effect on the health and growth efficiency of the host by influencing gut microbiota or modifying immune status, as well as by stimulating digestive processes [2,3,4,5]. Many studies have demonstrated the effects of dietary probiotic administration in modifying the intestinal gene expression [14], physiology [15], immunology [15, 16], morphology, and mucus composition [12, 14,15,16,17,18]. It has been shown that the dietary supplementation with a commercial multi-strain probiotic (Slab R , Ormendes SA, Jouxtens-Mézery, CH) containing a mixture of different species of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria induced enhancement of growth performance and changes in the composition of mucins in the intestinal tract of pigs [24, 25] as well as clinical amelioration in dogs and cats with chronic intestinal pathology [26, 27]
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