Table_2_Egg Production in Poultry Farming Is Improved by Probiotic Bacteria.xlsx

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most serious threats for human health in the near future. Livestock has played an important role in the appearance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, intestinal dysbiosis in farming animals, or the spread of AMR among pathogenic bacteria of human concern. The development of alternatives like probiotics is focused on maintaining or improving production levels while diminishing these negative effects of antibiotics. To this end, we supplied the potential probiotic Enterococcus faecalis UGRA10 in the diet of laying hens at a final concentration of 108 Colony Forming Units per gram (CFU/g) of fodder. Its effects have been analyzed by: (i) investigating the response of the ileum and caecum microbiome; and (ii) analyzing the outcome on eggs production. During the second half of the experimental period (40 to 76 days), hens fed E. faecalis UGRA10 maintained egg production, while control animals dropped egg production. Supplementation diet with E. faecalis UGRA10 significantly increased ileum and caecum bacterial diversity (higher bacterial operational taxonomic unit richness and Faith’s diversity index) of laying hens, with animals fed the same diet showing a higher similarity in microbial composition. These results point out to the beneficial effects of E. faecalis UGRA10 in egg production. Future experiments are necessary to unveil the underlying mechanisms that mediate the positive response of animals to this treatment.

抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）是未来人类健康面临的最严重威胁之一。畜禽在抗生素耐药细菌的出现、农场动物的肠道菌群失调，或人类关注病原细菌中AMR的传播中发挥了重要作用。开发如益生菌等替代品的研究旨在在维持或提高生产水平的同时，减轻抗生素的这些负面影响。为此，我们在产蛋鸡的饲料中加入了潜在的益生菌肠球菌U GRA10，其最终浓度为每克饲料含108个菌落形成单位（CFU/g）。通过以下方式对其效果进行了分析：（i）调查回肠和盲肠微生物群的响应；（ii）分析对鸡蛋生产的影响。在实验期的后半段（40至76天），摄入E. faecalis UGRA10的鸡群保持了鸡蛋产量，而对照组的鸡蛋产量则下降。添加E. faecalis UGRA10的补充饲料显著增加了产蛋鸡回肠和盲肠的细菌多样性（更高的细菌操作分类单元丰富度和Faith多样性指数），且与相同饲料喂养的动物微生物组成相似度更高。这些结果指向了E. faecalis UGRA10在提高鸡蛋产量方面的益处。未来的实验有必要揭示调节动物对这种治疗产生积极反应的潜在机制。