HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Santos, F. B. O. Articles by Smith, D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Santos, F. B. O. Articles by Smith, D.

Determination of Ileum Microbial Diversity of Broilers Fed Triticale- or Corn-Based Diets and Colonized by Salmonella¹

F. B. O. Santos^*, B. W. Sheldon^*,2, A. A. Santos, Jr.^*, P. R. Ferket^*, M. D. Lee, A. Petroso and D. Smith

^* Department of Poultry Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695; and Department of Avian Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens 30602

Correspondence: ² Corresponding author: brian_sheldon{at}ncsu.edu

Diversity of the bacterial communities in the ileum of broilers was characterized using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis separation of polymerase chain reaction amplicons of the V2–V3 variable regions of the 16S rDNA is a common method to profile community diversity and has been used to assess the effects of diet and antibiotics on the ileal bacterial community of chickens. Broilers raised either on litter floor or in cage batteries were fed either a finely ground corn- (control), a finely ground triticale-, or a whole triticale-based diet from 0 to 42 d. Microbial DNA was extracted from the ileum content of 42-d-old broilers, and the 16S rDNA gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and the amplicons separated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Diversity indexes including richness, evenness, diversity, and pairwise similarity coefficients were calculated. Diversity indexes were related to the dietary treatments, housing designs, and to changes in Salmonella colonization of broiler ceca as characterized by the most probable number method. Higher microbial diversity indexes were observed among birds fed whole triticale-based diets and reared on litter floors. In contrast, finely ground grain treatments had lower diversity and higher Salmonella prevalence than the whole triticale treatment. The data indicated that combination of high dietary fiber content and increased coarseness of the diet by feeding whole triticale stimulated microbial community diversity and discouraged Salmonella colonization, perhaps through a competitive exclusion-type mechanism.

Key Words: Salmonella • broiler • microbial diversity • triticale • whole grain • fiber

¹ Use of trade names in this publication does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Agriculture Research Service or the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of the products mentioned nor criticism of similar products not mentioned.