Recent Advances in Probiotic Application in Animal Health and Nutrition: A Review

Abstract

Biotechnological advances in animal health and nutrition continue to play a significant role in the improvement of animal health, growth, and production performance. These biotechnological advancements, especially the use of direct-fed microbials, also termed probiotics, those genetically modified and otherwise, have minimized many challenges facing livestock production around the world. Such advancements result in healthy animals and animal products, such as meat, for a growing population worldwide. Increasing demand for productivity, healthy animals, and consumer food safety concerns, especially those emanating from excessive use of antibiotics or growth promoters, are a driving force for investing in safer alternatives, such as probiotics. The advent of vastly diverse pathogens and bacterial organisms, some of which have acquired antimicrobial resistance due to therapeutic use of these antibiotics, has had a negative impact on the animal and food industries. Probiotics have been chosen as substitutes to counter this excessive use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. Over the last decade, probiotics have gained recognition, increased in importance, and stimulated growing interest in the animal health and nutrition industry. Probiotics are considered to be favorable live microorganisms by the host organism by maintaining microbial homeostasis and healthy gut, and can be a viable alternative to antibiotics in addition to providing other growth-promoting properties. Even though various studies describe the modes of action of probiotics, more research is needed to illuminate the exact mechanism of action of probiotics and how they benefit the host. This review describes the importance of probiotics in animal health, nutrition, and in growth and production performance. It also provides a thorough review of recent advances in probiotics research and application in animal health and nutrition and future directions on probiotic research to enhance animal performance.

A marine probiotic treatment against the bacterial pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus to improve the performance of Pacific (Crassostrea gigas) and Kumamoto (C. sikamea) oyster larvae

“…Knowledge of the beneficial modes of action of probiotics is sparse, particularly in the aquatic environment when probiotic benefits could be related to interactions with the rearing environment, the host-associated microbial community, or with the host's eukaryotic cells (Gomez-Gil et al, 2000;Lebeer et al, 2010;Prado et al, 2010;Van Doan et al, 2020). These modes could include modulation of the resident microbiome to a more beneficial state, direct antagonism against individual cells of a pathogen, such as killing by direct contact and toxin secretion, production of antimicrobials, or by changing environmental conditions in ways that limit pathogen growth via competitive exclusion (Bhogoju & Nahashon, 2022;Kaushik et al, 2022;Kesarcodi-Watson et al, 2008;Sohn et al, 2016). Probiotics may also directly interact with the eukaryotic cells of the host and contribute to digestion by supplying enzymes, acting as a nutritional source, restoring mucosal integrity and barrier functions, or modulating the immune response (Bhogoju & Nahashon, 2022;Kesarcodi-Watson et al, 2008;Sohn et al, 2016).…”

A marine probiotic treatment against the bacterial pathogenVibrio coralliilyticusto improve the performance of Pacific (Crassostrea gigas) and Kumamoto (C. sikamea) oyster larvae

“…These modes could include modulation of the resident microbiome to a more beneficial state, direct antagonism against individual cells of a pathogen, such as killing by direct contact and toxin secretion, production of antimicrobials, or by changing environmental conditions in ways that limit pathogen growth via competitive exclusion (Bhogoju & Nahashon, 2022;Kaushik et al, 2022;Kesarcodi-Watson et al, 2008;Sohn et al, 2016). Probiotics may also directly interact with the eukaryotic cells of the host and contribute to digestion by supplying enzymes, acting as a nutritional source, restoring mucosal integrity and barrier functions, or modulating the immune response (Bhogoju & Nahashon, 2022;Kesarcodi-Watson et al, 2008;Sohn et al, 2016).…”

Full-Length 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon and Metagenome Taxonomic Profiling of Beneficial Microbes in Poultry and Swine Probiotic Product

“…However, the unregulated usage of those chemicals probably resulted in drug resistance, endangering both animal and human health ( 2 ). Even though many probiotics are recognized as safe and used as animal growth promoters ( 3 , 4 ), little research has been done on microbial diversity and the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In this study, microbial diversity and AMR profiling were evaluated from 16S amplicon and shotgun data of animal probiotic product generated by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT).…”