• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1217-1225
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• 2015

Chicken is a major food source for humans, hence it is important to understand the mechanisms involved in nutrient absorption in chicken. In the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), the microbiota plays a central role in enhancing nutrient absorption and strengthening the immune system, thereby affecting both growth and health of chicken. There is little information on the diversity and functions of chicken GIT microbiota, its impact on the host, and the interactions between the microbiota and host. Here, we review the recent metagenomic strategies to analyze the chicken GIT microbiota composition and its functions related to improving metabolism and health. We summarize methodology of metagenomics in order to obtain bacterial taxonomy and functional inferences of the GIT microbiota and suggest a set of indicator genes for monitoring and manipulating the microbiota to promote host health in future.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.259-262
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• 2004

The ability of Modified Glucomannan (MG) to bind T-2 toxin (T-2) in the gastrointestinal tract has been tested in vivo by feeding 120 five-wk-old broiler chicken with the following six treatment diets, 1) Control diet; 2) Control+MG (0.1%); 3) Control+T-2 (500 ppb); 4) Control+T-2 (500 ppb)+MG (0.1%); 5) Control+T-2 (1,000 ppb) and 6) Control+T-2 (1,000 ppb)+MG (0.1%). Twenty birds were assigned to each treatment group, which had five experimental groups. Four birds of each experimental group were sacrificed at an interval of 30 min i.e. at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after feeding experimental diets. The whole gut contents of each bird were collected, dried and toxin concentration was determined. Percent T-2 recovered from the gut was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the groups fed MG at all the time intervals. The percent T-2 adsorbed by the MG at different T-2 levels (500 and 1,000 ppb) was 15.97 and 14.77, 22.53 and 22.67, 26.88 and 28.03, and 31.50 and 31.83 at 30, 60, 90 and 120 min, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.81-95
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• 2006

The large intestine of the chicken differs both anatomically and physiologically from the pig's large intestine and the men of the cow. The chicken's large intestine is less developed than the pig's large intestine or the cow's lumen. This paper summaries these differences. The chicken's large intestine contains a microbiological population similar to that found in the rumen. The chicken's caeca especially contains a large number of microorganisms, but this population varies according to age, fred, maturity, antibiotic use and etc.. Protein is an essential nutrient for the formation of intestinal microvilli. A study showed that the length of the small intestine was 63 % of the total gastrointestinal tract (GIT) length, while caecum was 8.1 %, and the colon and rectum were 4.6 %. The establishment of the microbial population of the small intestine occurs earlier than that of the caeca, but the identity of approximately 90 % of microbial population of the chicken GIT is hon. Recent studies have shown that energy, volatile fatty acid (VFA) and electrolytes that are found in the large intestine may be absorbed to a certain degree. The chicken small intestine is the primary location for digestion with a variety of enzymes being secreted here. Much research is being conducted into the digestion of sucrose thermal oligosaccharide caramel (STOP), fructooligosaccharides (FOS), mannanoligosaccharide (MOS), galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO) in the chicken caeca and large intestine. Excessive fibre content in the feed has detrimental effects, but proper fibre supplementation to chicken diets can improve the length and capacity of the small intestine.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1324-1329
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• 2008

This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of the transformed Lactobacillus reuteri Pg4 (T-Pg4) harboring the ${\beta}$-glucanase gene as a poultry probiotic. The probiotic properties of the T-Pg4 strain were evaluated in vitro by their adherence capability and acid and bile salt tolerance, and were evaluated in vivo by their survival and adhesion in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens. The results showed that the T-Pg4 strain exhibited resistance to acidic conditions and contact with bile salt, and adhered efficiently to the crop and intestinal epithelial cells of chickens in vitro. The T-Pg4 strain also could survive and colonize the gastrointestinal epithelium of the experimental SPF chickens in vivo. In addition, radial enzyme diffusion was used to demonstrate that the Lactobacillus spp. randomly isolated from the GIT of the SPF chickens fed T-Pg4 possessed ${\beta}$-glucanase secretion capability. These findings have demonstrated that the transformed L. reuteri Pg4 survives transit through the stomach and intestine, and may secrete ${\beta}$-glucanase in the chicken GIT. Therefore, it is suggested that this organism could be used as a multifunctional poultry probiotic.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.251-256
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• 2005

In this study, we assessed the susceptibility of 12 Lactobacillus strains, all of which had been isolated from the gastrointestinal tracts of chicken, to three antibiotics (chloramphenicol, erythromycin and tetracycline) used commonly as selective markers in transformation studies of lactic acid bacteria. Among these strains, $17\%,\;58\%,\;and\;25\%$ were found to exhibit a high degree of resistance to $200\;{\mu}g/ml$ of tetracycline, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol, respectively. Seven of the 12 Lactobacillus strains exhibiting resistance to at least $50\;{\mu}g/ml$ of chloramphenicol or erythromycin, and five strains exhibiting resistance to at least $50\;{\mu}g/ml$ of tetracycline, were subsequently subjected to plasmid curing with chemical curing agents, such as novobiocin, acriflavin, SDS, and ethidium bromide. In no cases did the antibiotic resistance of these strains prove to be curable, with the exception of the erythromycin resistance exhibited by five Lactobacillus strains (L. acidophilus I16 and I26, L. fermentum I24 and C17, and L. brevis C10). Analysis of the plasmid profiles of these five cured derivatives revealed that all of the derivatives, except for L. acidophilus I16, possessed profiles similar to those of wild-type strains. The curing of L. acidophilus I16 was accompanied by the loss of 4.4 kb, 6.1 kb, and 11.5 kb plasmids.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.105-115
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• 1995

The balance of microbial populations in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of all warm-blooded animals is critical to the maintenance of health and resistance to disease. The composition of the populations can be altered by diet and environment, making the host animal susceptible to disease, and reducing growth rate and feed efficiency. Some feed additives including antimicrobial agents, prohiotics or yucca extract have been used to promote growth and feed utilization. There is evidence that part of growth-promoting effect of those feed additives results from the suppression of microbial urease activity or ammonia production in the GI contents of animals. Over 200 microbial species have been known to produce urease and the product of urea hydrolysis, ammonia, is toxic to animals. Carefully tested probiotics or other urease-suppressing agents can be a possible alternative to antimicrobial agents including antibiotics as growth promotants used for animals feeds.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 2012

The worldwide distribution and continuing genetic mutation of avian influenza virus (AIV) has been posed a great threat to human and animal health. A comparison of 3 isolates of AIV H9N2, A/chicken/Korea/KBNP-0028/00 (H9N2) (KBNP-0028), A/chicken/Korea/SNU8011/08 (H9N2) (SNU 8011) and an inactivated oil vaccine strain A/chicken/Korea/01310/01 (H9N2) (01310), was performed. The former 2 AIVs were isolated from field cases before and after the application of an inactivated H9N2 vaccine in 2007, respectively. The antigenic relationship, viral shedding, tissue tropism and genetic analysis were examined. The comparison of virus shedding from the cloaca and the oropharynx revealed that both isolates were more frequently isolated from the upper respiratory tract (90~100%) 1 day post inoculation (DPI) compared with isolation 5 DPI from gastrointestinal tracts (10~60%). Moreover, the isolate KBNP-0028 were recovered from all organs including bone marrow, brain and kidneys, indicating higher ability for broad tissue dissemination than that of SNU 8011. KBNP-0028 replicated earlier than other strains and with a higher titer than SNU 8011. In full-length nucleotide sequences of the NA gene and a partial sequence of the HA gene of SNU 8011, we found that there might be significant changes in tissue tropism, virus replication and genetic mutation in AIV H9N2 isolates.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.213-221
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• 2012

A total of 18 Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolates that were recovered from 1949 through 1997 were characterized and pathotyped. All viruses were highly virulent as determined by intracerebral pathogenicity indices ${\geq}1.81$ in day-old. These pathotypes are typical for viscerotropic velogenic NDV (VVNDV) pathotype viruses. Some differences were observed for the chicken red blood cell elution rate and thermostability of the hemagglutinin at $56^{\circ}C$. Three antigenic groups were identified by a hemagglutination-inhibition assay using NDV monoclonal antibodies. And the predominant gross lesions were as follows: discharge from the nasal cavity, tracheal mucus, petechial hemorrhage in the heart fat, kidney urates and hemorrhage with or without necrosis in the gastrointestinal tract. Severe hemorrhagic or necrotic lesions were also noted in the lymphoid organs and were localized primarily in the spleen and cecal tonsil. However, differences in the occurrence and frequency of the gross lesions were observed between the virus strains. Among them, NDV strains that induced neurological symptoms belonged only to genotype VI. This strain had spread throughout Korea during the late 1980s to the 1990s, which suggests that specific VVNDVs genotypes might result in neurological symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.287-295
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• 2021

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of different feed withdrawal periods (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h) on Salmonella contamination in the crop, intestinal weight, and blood parameters of broilers before harvesting. A total of 100 broilers (initial live weight 1.906±0.06 kg) were randomly assigned to the same five treatment groups and broilers had access to water but no feed before catching. Feed withdrawal times were 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h prior to slaughter. Measurements included live weight, pre-slaughter weight, carcass weight, weight of gastrointestinal tract. In addition, Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination in the crop, serum biochemical profiles, counts of leukocytes, erythrocytes, and platelets, and meat quality were assessed. The results demonstrate that carcass weight, blood corticosterone, meat pH, meat color, and water holding capacity did not differ based on the feed withdrawal time. Carcass yield increased as the withdrawal time increased, but the weights of the crop, proventriculus, jejunum, ileum, and rectum were significantly reduced by 6 h (P<0.05). Salmonella counts were the lowest in the crops subjected to 6 h of feed withdrawal (P<0.05). Shear force was highest in chicken breast meat after 6 h of feed withdrawal (P<0.05). However, when the feed was withdrawn after 6 h, the shear force increased, but it did not affect the sensory characteristics in consumers, and the Salmonella count also decreased and had a reduction effect on contamination during slaughter. These findings can serve as reference data for setting the feed withdrawal time.