Table 3.
The top 4 phyla in the ileal and cecal microbiota of broiler chickens1.
| Item | Control | Cp | Lf_Cp | Bc_Cp | SEM | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 21 | ||||||
| Ileum | ||||||
| Firmicutes | 72.66b | 90.87a | 92.06a | 77.04ab | 3.09 | 0.049 |
| Bacteroidetes | 9.30 | 3.61 | 2.62 | 11.79 | 1.45 | 0.232 |
| Proteobacteria | 7.80 | 2.55 | 2.73 | 5.02 | 0.87 | 0.107 |
| Cyanobacteria | 8.74 | 2.12 | 1.75 | 3.34 | 1.22 | 0.612 |
| Cecum | ||||||
| Firmicutes | 58.79 | 63.94 | 62.32 | 62.50 | 1.74 | 0.775 |
| Bacteroidetes | 36.85 | 32.30 | 34.78 | 32.74 | 1.86 | 0.830 |
| Verrucomicrobia | 3.04 | 2.30 | 1.94 | 3.09 | 0.42 | 0.740 |
| Proteobacteria | 1.18 | 1.22 | 0.76 | 1.50 | 0.22 | 0.719 |
| Day 28 | ||||||
| Ileum | ||||||
| Firmicutes | 39.26 | 49.47 | 45.19 | 46.23 | 5.09 | 0.923 |
| Cyanobacteria | 36.87 | 40.79 | 31.50 | 26.18 | 4.66 | 0.727 |
| Proteobacteria | 16.20 | 8.78 | 16.44 | 26.10 | 3.27 | 0.329 |
| Bacteroidetes | 6.47a | 0.69b | 4.76ab | 1.19b | 1.08 | 0.023 |
| Cecum | ||||||
| Firmicutes | 59.58 | 62.86 | 62.83 | 66.40 | 2.66 | 0.860 |
| Bacteroidetes | 29.09 | 33.12 | 32.35 | 27.70 | 2.62 | 0.879 |
| Proteobacteria | 9.47a | 1.69b | 2.86b | 4.61b | 0.90 | 0.005 |
| Tenericutes | 0.85 | 0.38 | 1.28 | 1.02 | 0.17 | 0.285 |
1
Data are expressed as mean and pooled SEM from 8 and 7 chickens on days 21 and 28, respectively.
a, b
Values within a row with different superscripts differ significantly at P < 0.05. Control, unchallenged group; Cp, Clostridium perfringens-challenged group; Lf_Cp, challenged group with dietary supplementation of Lactobacillus fermentum; Bc_Cp, challenged group with dietary supplementation of Bacillus coagulans.