A Longitudinal investigation of broiler chickens microbiome

A longitudinal characterization of the microbiome of broiler chickens would enable to capture of the temporal variation including stability and dynamics of the microbial communities in response to different components added to the diet. Many alternatives to antimicrobial growth-promoting alternatives have been evaluated. However, the lack of scientific data on microbiome longitudinal studies on broilers-fed diets containing different compounds that are available in the poultry industry hinders the application of these alternatives in practical settings. In this study, we used 16S sequencing to longitudinally compare and characterize the microbiota of broilers fed a corn and soybean meal-based diet containing a probiotic (Bacillus subtilis), an essential oil blend (oregano oil, rosemary, and red pepper), and an antibiotic (BMD) for 21 days.