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Vertical transmission of gut bacteria in commercial chickens is limited.

ABSTRACT: The existence of vertical transmission in chickens under commercial settings, where chicks are raised separately from adults, is unclear. To answer this question, the fecal microbiota of chicks hatched and grown separately was compared with their mothers' microbiota. Most amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) identified in hens were not detected at all in chicks up to two weeks of age by 16S rDNA sequencing, and those that were detected had a low incidence among the chicks. Nevertheless, a few ASVs that were common with the hens were highly prevalent among the chicks, implying that they were efficiently transmitted to chicks. These ASVs were culturable from the reproductive tract of hens and eggshells. Furthermore, interventions attempting to disrupt transmission resulted in a reduction in the prevalence of specific phylogenetic groups in chicks. To conclude, vertical transmission in commercial poultry grown separately from adults likely exists but is not efficient, possibly resulting in impairment of microbiota function. This implies that artificial exposure to adult bacterial strains might improve microbiota functioning.

SUBMITTER: Shterzer N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10566040 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Vertical transmission of gut bacteria in commercial chickens is limited.

Shterzer Naama N Rothschild Nir N Sbehat Yara Y Dayan Jonathan J Eytan Dor D Uni Zehava Z Mills Erez E

Animal microbiome 20231010 1

The existence of vertical transmission in chickens under commercial settings, where chicks are raised separately from adults, is unclear. To answer this question, the fecal microbiota of chicks hatched and grown separately was compared with their mothers' microbiota. Most amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) identified in hens were not detected at all in chicks up to two weeks of age by 16S rDNA sequencing, and those that were detected had a low incidence among the chicks. Nevertheless, a few ASVs ...[more]

PMID: 37817230

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Vertical transmission of gut bacteria in commercial chickens is limited.

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Vertical transmission of gut bacteria in commercial chickens is limited.

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