Functional metagenomic screening of fosmid libraries constructed from Gallus gallus domesticus cecal bacteria. chicken gut metagenome

The goal of this study was to investigate the chicken cecal microbiome of broilers fed two different diets to identify microbial enzymes adapted throughout evolution to work efficiently in the broiler gut environment. The two experimental groups received different diets: the first received a standard corn/soybean meal ration while the second group received a ration high in wheat middlings. The bacteria were isolated from the cecal contents and their DNA was placed into fosmids. The fosmids were cloned into Escherichia coli and then screened for their functional ability to degrade under-utilized and/or inhibitory substrates found in poultry feed (B-glucan, lipid, xylan, and phytate).