This study was devoted to the comparison of the probiotic effect of compound probiotics to the antibiotics as a chicken feed additive. Two hundred and seventy newly-hatched yellow-feather broilers were randomly divided into 3 groups, control group (Con), probiotics (Pb) and antibiotics group (Ab). Pb group received compound probiotics via drinking water for 24 days. Ab group received antibiotics in diet for 24 days. All broilers were slaughtered at day 42. Compared with Con group, the body weight significantly increased on day 13, 28 and 42 in the Pb group ( P < 0.05). Compared with Ab group, the body weight of broilers in the Pb group increased significantly on day 13 (P < 0.05), and the depth of duodenum, jejunum and ileum crypts decreased significantly relative to Con group (P < 0.05). The ratio of villi length to crypt depth in duodenum, jejunum and ileum epithelium significantly increased in Pb group compared to Con group (P < 0.05). The genera Bacteroidesand Barnesiella were the most significantly enriched bacteria in Ab and Pb groups, respectively (P < 0.05). The expression of genes related to antibiotic resistance significantly decreased in Pb group relative to Ab group (P < 0.05). Dietary compound probiotics improved growth performance, small intestinal morphology, cecal microbiome, and fecal emissions, indicating its bright future as an alternative to antibiotics in yellow-feather broiler industry.

The selection of follicles determines the reproductive performance of birds, but the process of follicle selection in geese is still elusive. This study focuses on Yangzhou geese during the egg-laying period and divides the follicular development process into three stages: small follicle development, follicle selection, and follicle maturation. Transcriptome sequencing was performed on granulosa cells from large white follicles, small yellow follicles, and F5 and F4 follicles. In addition, we selected the transcripts that remained unchanged during the development and maturation of small follicles but significantly changed during the follicular selection stage as the transcript collection that plays an important role in the follicular selection process. Then, we performed functional analysis on these transcripts and constructed a ceRNA network. The results showed that during the follicular selection stage, the number of differentially expressed mRNAs, miRNAs, and lncRNAs was the highest. In addition, miR-222-3p, miR-2954-3p, miR-126-5p, miR-2478, and miR-425-5p are potential key core regulatory molecules in the selection stage of goose follicles. These results can provide a reference for a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of the goose follicle selection process and potential targets for the precise regulation of goose egg production performance.

Background:Emerging evidencesindicate a close relationship between gut microbiotaand fatty liver disease.It has been suggested that gut microbiota modulation with probiotics improved fatty liver disease in rodents and human, yet it still remains unclear in poultry.Results: Ninety six one-day-old green-legged chicken were divided into control group (CON) and probiotic group (PB), respectively. Probiotics were administrated throughdrinking water for two weeks from 1-day-old. At 28 d of age,16 broilers selectedfromCON or PB group randomly, and receivedvehicle(15% ethanol) or CORT(4.0 mg/kg)treatmentdaily viasubcutaneous injection for a week to induce fatty liver. At the end of the experiment, broilers from 4 groups,control group(CON), corticosterone group (CORT), probiotic group (PB), PB plusCORT group(CORT&PB),were slaughtered for sampling and analysis.The results showed that probiotics administration significantly prevented CORT-induced body weight loss(P<0.05), but did not alleviate the reduction of immune organs weight caused by CORT. Compared to CON,broilers in CORT group exhibited a significant increase of triglyceride (TG) levelin both plasma and liver(P< 0.01), as well as severe hepatocytic steatosis and hepatocellular ballooning, and accompanied with the up-regulation of hepatic lipogenesis genes expression. However, probiotics supplementation markedly decreased the intrahepatic lipid accumulation and steatosis histological score, which was associated withthedown-regulation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP1) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) mRNA (P< 0.05)as well as it protein (P= 0.06) expression.Cecal microbiota composition was determined by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that CORT treatment induced distinct gut microbiota alterations with a decrease of microbial diversity, and anincrease of proteobacteriaabundance (P<0.05). On the contrary, probiotic supplementation increased the beta diversity and increased community richness and diversity index(P> 0.05), as well as the abundance of Intestinimonas(P<0.05).Conclusion: Our results indicate that CORT treatment induced serious fatty liver disease and altered the gut microbiota composition in broilers, however,probiotics supplementation from post-hatching had a beneficial effect on alleviatingfatty liver disease through regulating lipogenic genes expression and increasing gut microbiota diversity andbeneficial bacteria abundanceimbalance.

The present study aims to investigate the effect of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on liver lipid metabolism and on AA broilers. Broilers were divided into three groups and fed with low-fat diets, high-fat diets, and high-fat diets supplemented with GABA. Results showed that GABA supplementation decreased the level of triglyceride (TG) in the serum and liver of broilers fed high-fat diets, accompanied by up-regulated mRNA expression of genes related to lipolysis and β-oxidation in the liver (p < 0.05). Furthermore, GABA supplementation increased liver antioxidant capacity, accompanied by up-regulated mRNA expression of antioxidant genes (p < 0.05). 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that GABA improved high-fat diet-induced dysbiosis of gut microbiota, increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes phylum and Barnesiella genus, and decreased the relative abundance of Firmicutes phylum and Ruminococcus_torques_group and Romboutsia genus (p < 0.05). Moreover, GABA supplementation promoted the production of propionic acid and butyric acid in cecal contents. Correlation analysis further suggested the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes negatively correlated with hepatic TG content, and positively correlated with cecal short chain fatty acids content (r > 0.6, p < 0.01). Together, these data suggest that GABA supplementation can inhibit hepatic TG deposition and steatosis via regulating gut microbiota in broilers.