Assessing the Impact of Flavomycin and Virginiamycin Supplementation on the Broiler Microbiota: A prospective controlled intervention study

Antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs), flavomycin and virginiamycin, have been widely used for decades in food animal production. It is suggested AGP activity is partly driven by modulation of the gut microbial composition although the exact growth promoting changes remain unclear. In a controlled intervention study, we here studied the effect of flavomycin and virginiamycin on the broiler chicken ileal microbiota spanning from birth to thirty-nine days, using 16S rRNA gene profiling and predictive functional metabolic assessments.