Table_3_Egg Production in Poultry Farming Is Improved by Probiotic Bacteria.docx

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.

抗菌素耐药性（AMR）是未来人类健康所面临的最严峻威胁之一。家畜在抗生素耐药细菌的出现、养殖动物肠道菌群失调，或人类关注病原菌中抗菌素耐药性的传播等方面发挥了重要作用。对于如益生菌等替代品的发展，其焦点在于在减少抗生素的这些负面影响的同时，维持或提高生产水平。为此，我们在产蛋鸡的饲料中添加了潜在的益生菌粪肠球菌UGRA10，最终浓度为每克饲料含108个菌落形成单位（CFU/g）。其效果通过以下方式进行分析：（一）调查回肠和盲肠微生物群对粪肠球菌UGRA10的反应；（二）分析对鸡蛋产量的影响。在实验的后半期（40至76天），食用粪肠球菌UGRA10的鸡群保持了鸡蛋产量，而对照组的鸡蛋产量则下降。补充含有粪肠球菌UGRA10的饲料显著增加了产蛋鸡的回肠和盲肠细菌多样性（更高的细菌操作分类单元丰富度和Faith多样性指数），与食用相同饲料的动物显示出更高的微生物组成相似性。这些结果指出，粪肠球菌UGRA10在提高鸡蛋产量方面具有积极作用。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。