Effects of bacteriophage supplement on the growth performance, microbial population, and PGC-1α and TLR4 gene expressions of broiler chickens

Abstract

Bacteriophages (BP) are viruses that invade bacteria and propagate inside them, leading to the lysis of the bacterial cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adding BP to the broiler’s diet and its effect on the performance, morphology and bacterial population of the gut, some immune responses and expression of some intestinal genes. Accordingly, dietary treatments were as follows: basal diet (control), and control + 0.3 g/kg colistin or 0.5, 1 and 1.5 g BP/kg of diet. BP increased the body weight gain and reduced the feed conversion ratio (FCR), as compared to the colistin treatment, in the finisher and overall period (P < 0.05). European efficiency factor was significantly higher in 1.5 g BP-fed birds, as compared to the control and colistin treatments. meanwhile, bacteriophage and colistin-fed birds had higher Lactobacillus and lowered coliform bacteria counts, as compared to the control treatment (P < 0.05). Cecal concentrations of propionate in the 1.5 g BP-fed birds were higher than those in the control treatment (P < 0.05). BP-fed birds had a significantly increased villus height to crypt depth ratio, as compared to the control treatment. BP increased the serum concentrations of the total antibody, immunoglobulin (Ig) M, and IgG, as compared to the control treatment (P < 0.05). In the ileum, the expression of the Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) gene was decreased by dietary BP supplementation (P < 0.05). Furthermore, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene expression was down-regulated in the BP-fed birds, whereas Interleukin 10 (IL-10) gene expression was up-regulated (P < 0.05). Overall, the use of BP may be a promising alternative to growth-promoting antibiotics in broilers by altering the gastrointestinal tract microbiota, enhancing immunological responses and improving the gut's morphology.

Modulation of Caecal Microbiota and Metabolome Profile in Salmonella-Infected Broilers by Phage Therapy

“…Overall, the magnitude of the changes in the blood serum of the phage-treated group appears not to have caused a significant physiological response. As such, these results are confirmed by the observation that the administration of phages did not influence the chicks' performance from the early to later growth stages (with or without bacterial target challenge), which is consistent with several previous studies [32,41,[82][83][84]. The translational value of these findings to other production systems, such as laying hens or other species, could potentially be a source of bias due to the short period of rearing in broilers (6 weeks old).…”

Effects of fecal microbiota transplantation and fecal virome transplantation on LPS-induced intestinal injury in broilers

“…improved the development of immune function in broilers and is accompanied by elevated IL-10 mRNA expression in the ileal mucosa. Sarrami et al (2022) found that dietary addition of phage significantly increased IL-10 mRNA expression and had anti-inflammatory effects ( Sarrami et al, 2022 ). Similar to these results, IL-10 mRNA expression was significantly increased in the FVT group in D11 results ( Figure 1 ).…”

Diets containing phytobiotics, l‐arginine, vitamin E and captopril modulate ascites syndrome‐related genes expression in broiler chickens exposed to low ambient temperature

“…Plant extracts are known to have a potent effect on reducing enteropathogens (Manso et al., 2021 ; Rayne & Mazza, 2007 ; Singh et al., 2023 ). The reduction in enteropathogenic bacteria leads to beneficial alterations in intestinal mucosal architecture, resulting in increased in digestibility of ileal nutrients and, consequently, increased body weight (Sarrami et al., 2022 ).…”