FIG 1.

(a) Experimental design. A total of 273 1-day-old chicks were assigned to the following groups: control, prebiotics (galacto-oligosaccharides [GOS]), and attST. A total of 7 animals were sampled at 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. After sampling on day 28, half of the remaining birds in each treatment group were challenged with the virulent Salmonella strain. There are 3 groups from 0 to 28 days (i.e., control, GOS, and attST) and 6 groups after challenging with the virulent Salmonella (i.e., control challenged, GOS challenged, and attST challenged). After the challenge, birds were sampled weekly (n = 7 birds) for up to 8 weeks (56 days). (b) Kinetics of clearance of the attST strain in the ceca of chickens in the treated group. Determination of the number of CFU was done by culturing.