Effect of Dietary Clostridium butyricum Supplementation on Growth Performance, Intestinal Barrier Function, Immune Function, and Microbiota Diversity of Pekin Ducks

Identification and Characterization of a Potential Probiotic, Clostridium butyricum G13, Isolated from the Intestine of the Mud Crab (Scylla paramamosain)

The butyrate-producing bacterium Clostridium butyricum has been proven to be important in improving the growth and health benefits of aquatic animals. In this study, C. butyricum G13 was isolated for the first time from the gut of the mud crab (Scylla paramamosain). The results of this study showed that C. butyricum G13 could produce a high concentration of butyric acid and grow well in a wide range of pHs (4 to 9) and NaCl (1 to 2.5%) and bile salt (0.2 to 1.0%) concentrations. In vitro characterization revealed that C. butyricum G13 is a Gram-positive and gamma-hemolytic bacterium sensitive to most antibiotics and shows hydrophobicity and the capacity to degrade starch. In vitro fermentation using mud crab gut contents showed that C. butyricum G13 alone or in combination with galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and/or resistant starch (RS) significantly increased butyric acid production and beneficially affected the abundance and diversity of intestinal microbiota. In addition, C. butyricum G13 can improve the survival rate of mud crabs and effectively maintain the normal structure of gut morphology after infection with Vibrio parahaemolyticus. In conclusion, C. butyricum G13 can be considered a potential probiotic that improves the immune capacity and confers health benefits on mud crabs. IMPORTANCE With the development of society, more and more aquatic animals are demanded. Intensification in the aquaculture scale is facing problems, such as disease outbreaks, eutrophication of water bodies, and misuse of antibiotics. Among these challenges, disease outbreak is the most important factor directly affecting aquaculture production. It is crucial to explore new approaches effective for the prevention and control of diseases. Probiotics have been widely used in aquaculture and have shown beneficial effects on the host. In this study, the butyrate-producing bacterium Clostridium butyricum G13 was isolated for the first time from the intestine of the mud crab through in vitro fermentation. The bacterium has probiotic properties and changes the gut microbiota to be beneficial to hosts in vitro as well as protecting hosts from Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection in vivo. The outcomes of this study indicate that C. butyricum G13 can be used as a potential probiotic in mud crab aquaculture.

Modulation of the immune system of chickens a key factor in maintaining poultry production-a review

The awareness of poultry production safety is constantly increasing. The safety of poultry production is defined as biosecurity and the health status of birds. Hence the constant pursuit of developing new strategies in this area is necessary. Biosecurity is an element of good production practices that ensures adequate hygiene and maintaining the health status of poultry production. Poultry production is the world leader among all livestock species. Producers face many challenges during rearing, which depend on the utility type, the direction of use, and consumer requirements. For many years, the aim was to increase production results. Increasing attention is paid to the quality of the raw material and its safety. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure hygiene status during production. It can affect the immune system's functioning and birds' health status. Feed, water, and environmental conditions, including light, gases, dust, and temperature, play an essential role in poultry production. This review aims to look for stimulators and modulators of the poultry immune system while affecting the biosecurity of poultry production. Such challenges in current research by scientists aim to respond to the challenges posed as part of the One Health concept. The reviewed issues are a massive potential for an innovative approach to poultry production and related risks as part of the interaction of the animal-human ecosystem.

The isolation, identification, whole-genome sequencing of Clostridium butyricum LV1 and its effects on growth performance, immune response, and disease-resistance of Litopenaeus vannamei

In this study, a strain of Clostridium butyricum was isolated from the intestine of Litopenaeus vannamei with the method of anaerobic microbial isolation and culture. Next, the probiotic properties of LV1 were evaluated with susceptibility tests, tolerance tests, and whole genome sequencing in vivo and in vitro, followed by the analysis of the effect of LV1 on the growth performance, immune response, and disease resistance of Litopenaeus vannamei. According to the results, the 16 S rDNA sequence of LV1 was 100% homolofgous to the reference sequence of Clostridium butyricum. Moreover, LV1 was resistant to several antibiotics including amikacin, streptomycin, and gentamicin and highly tolerated artificial gastric and artificial intestinal fluids. The whole genome of LV1 was 4625,068 bp in size and included 4336 coding genes. Among these genes, GO, KEGG, and COG databases exhibited the highest number of genes annotated to metabolic pathway classes and 105 genes annotated as glycoside hydrolases. Meanwhile, 176 virulence genes were predicted. The use of diets supplemented with 1.2 × 10⁹ CFU/kg of LV1 live cells significantly increased the weight gain and specific growth rates of Litopenaeus vannamei and the activity of serum superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, acid phosphatase, and alkaline phosphatase (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the use of these diets markedly improved the relative expression of intestinal immunity- and growth-related genes. In conclusion, LV1 has excellent probiotic properties. Specifically, the addition of 1.2 × 10⁹ CFU/kg of LV1 live cells to the diet improved the growth performance, immune response, and disease-resistance of Litopenaeus vannamei.

Effects of Clostridium butyricum on growth performance, meat quality, and intestinal health of broilers

This study investigated the effects of Clostridium butyricum on the growth performance, meat quality and intestinal health of broilers. A total of 800 one-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly assigned to two groups with 16 replicates of 25 broilers per group and fed with a basal diet (CON) or a basal diet supplemented with 1.5 × 10⁹ cfu/kg C. butyricum and 5 × 10⁸ cfu/kg C. butyricum at 1-21 d and 22-42 d, respectively (CB). The results indicated that C. butyricum significantly increased the final body weight, average daily gain at 1-42 d in the growth performance of broilers (P < 0.05). Moreover, C. butyricum significantly increased a 24 h * value and pH_24h value of breast meat but reduced the drip loss and shear force (P < 0.05). Regarding serum antioxidant indices, C. butyricum significantly increased the total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and total antioxidative capacity activities and reduced the malondialdehyde content (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the broilers in the CB demonstrated an increase in jejunal lipase and trypsin activities, villus height (VH) and VH-to-crypt depth ratio at 42 d compared with those in the CON (P < 0.05). C. butyricum also upregulated the intestinal mRNA levels of zonula occludens-1, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), SOD1 and interleukin-10 in the jejunal mucosa (P < 0.05), but it downregulated the mRNA levels of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and tumor necrosis factor-α (P < 0.05). These results indicate that C. butyricum can improve the growth performance and meat quality of broilers. In particular, C. butyricum can improve the intestinal health of broilers, which is likely to be related to the activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway and inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Probiotics ameliorate growth retardation of glyphosate by regulating intestinal microbiota and metabolites in crucian carp (Carassius auratus)

Glyphosate (GLY) contamination widely occurred in aquatic environments including aquaculture systems and raised hazard to aquatic organisms such as fish. Probiotics have been reported to alleviate contaminants-induced toxicity. However, whether probiotics could reduce the health risk of GLY to fish remain unknown. Here we investigated the impacts of GLY on crucian carp (Carassius auratus) by focusing on the protective roles of two commonly used aquaculture probiotics, Bacillus coagulans (BC) and Clostridium butyricum (CB). Exposure to GLY significantly caused growth retardation and reduced visceral fat and intestinal lipase activity in crucian carp. 16S rRNA sequencing indicated that dysbiosis of Bacteroidetes at phylum level and Flavobacterium at genus level might be primarily responsible for GLY-induced negative growth performance. High throughput targeted quantification for metabolites revealed that GLY changed intestinal metabolites profiles, especially the reduced bile acids and short-chain fatty acids. However, the addition of BC or CB effectively attenuated the adverse effects above by remodeling the gut microbiota composition and improving microbial metabolism. The present study provides novel evidence for ameliorating the harmful effects of GLY on fish species by adding probiotics, which highlights the potential application of probiotics in reducing the health risks of GLY in aquatic environment.

The effects of Clostridium butyricum on Ira rabbit growth performance, cecal microbiota and plasma metabolome

Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) can provide many benefits for animals’ growth performance and gut health. In this study, we investigated the effects of C. butyricum on the growth performance, cecal microbiota, and plasma metabolome in Ira rabbits. A total of 216 Ira rabbits at 32 days of age were randomly assigned to four treatments supplemented with basal diets containing 0 (CG), 200 (LC), 400 (MC), and 600 mg/kg (HC) C. butyricum for 35 days, respectively. In comparison with the CG group, C. butyricum supplementation significantly improved the average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion rate (FCR) at 53 and 67 days of age (P < 0.05) and digestibilities of crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF) at 67 days of age (P < 0.05). The cellulase activity in the HC group was higher respectively by 50.14 and 90.13% at 53 and 67 days of age, than those in the CG groups (P < 0.05). Moreover, at 67 days of age, the diet supplemented with C. butyricum significantly increased the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia at the phylum level (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the concentrations of different metabolites, such as amino acids and purine, were significantly altered by C. butyricum (P < 0.05). In addition, 10 different genera were highly correlated with 52 different metabolites at 53-day-old and 6 different genera were highly correlated with 18 different metabolites at 67-day-old Ira rabbits. These findings indicated that the C. butyricum supplementation could significantly improve the growth performance by modifying the cecal microbiota structure and plasma metabolome of weaned Ira rabbits.