Influence of Pleurotus sapidus fruiting bodies on performance, cecum microbiome and intermediary metabolism in liver and breast muscle of broilers

Despite the need to enhance feed production for monogastric farm animals, this challenge is complicated by the fact that natural resources are becoming increasingly limited and climate protection goals have to be considered. Thus, there is a need for alternative feed sources, which are produced in a resource-efficient and sustainable manner. Valorization of low-value agricultural sidestreams by edible fungi, such as Pleurotus sapidus (PSA), has been proposed as a strategy to utilize such sidestreams as a sustainable source of feed for monogastric farm animals, because P. spp. are capable of degrading a wide array of fiber-rich substrates. In a recent study, we have demonstrated that feeding a biotechnologically produced PSA mycelium to broilers does not affect growth performance and nutrient digestibility and causes only weak effects on the cecal microbiota community, the liver transcriptome and the plasma metabolome of broilers. In order to clarify if the effect of the mycelium differs from that of the fruiting bodies, the present study investigated the effect of PSA fruiting bodies on the performance, the gut microbiome and the transcriptome and the lipid metabolism in the liver of broilers. 72 male, 1-day-old Cobb 500 broilers were randomly assigned to three different groups and fed three different adequate diets containing either 0 (group PSA-F0), 25 (group PSA-F25) or 50 (group PSA-F50) g/kg diet of P. sapidus fruiting bodies in a three-phase feeding system (starter diet form day 1-10, grower diet from day 11-21, finisher diet from day 22-35).