This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Bacillus subtilis (BS) and Chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) on growth performance, nutrient utilization, slaughter performance, meat quality and cecal microflora diversity of AA broilers. A total of 288 one-day-old broilers with similar body weight (46±0.64 g) were randomly divided into 6 treatment groups with 6 replicates per treatment and 8 chickens per replicate ( half male and half female ). The control group (CON) was fed a basal diet, and the experimental groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 5×109 CFU·kg-1Bacillus subtilis (BS1 group), 6×109 CFU·kg-1Bacillus subtilis (BS2 group), 125 mg·kg-1 COS (COS group), 5×109 CFU·kg-1Bacillus subtilis+125 mg·kg-1 COS (MIX Ⅰ group), 6×109 CFU·kg-1Bacillus subtilis+125 mg·kg-1 COS (MIX Ⅱ group). The experiment lasted for 42 days. The results were showed as follows: 1) From 1 to 21 days of age, compared with CON, ADG in MIX Ⅱ group was significantly increased (P<0.01), and FCR in MIX Ⅱ group was significantly increased (P<0.01). At 22-42 days of age, compared with CON, ADG in MIX Ⅰ and MIX Ⅱ groups were significantly increased (P<0.01). From 1 to 42 days of age, compared with CON, the ADG of MIX Ⅰ and MIX Ⅱ groups were significantly increased (P<0.01), and the FCR of MIX Ⅱ group was significantly increased (P=0.01). 2) Compared with CON, the semi-eviscerated rate and eviscerated rate of BS2 group were significantly increased (P<0.05). 3) Compared with CON, the crude protein utilization rate of broilers in MIX I group and COS group was significantly increased (P<0.05). 4) Compared with CON, there was no significant difference in pH45 min, pH24 h, shear force, water loss rate, L*, a* or b* among groups (P>0.05). The drip loss of breast muscle in MIX Ⅰ group was significantly increased (P<0.01), but the drip loss of leg muscle showed a downward trend, and the difference was not significant (P>0.05). 5) Compared with CON, the Chao1, ACE and Shannon index of cecal flora in COS group increased by 0.13%, 0.52% and 1.56%, respectively, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). The Simpson index of cecal flora in COS group decreased by 5.2%, but the overall difference was not significant (P>0.05). The BS2 group was significantly deviated from the other treatment groups on the PC1 axis. BS1 group, COS group, MIX Ⅰ group and MIX Ⅱ group were close to each other and tended to gather, with more overlapping parts, indicating that the composition of cecal flora was similar. At the phylum level, compared with CON, the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Verrucomicrobia in the cecal flora of broilers in MIX Ⅱ group increased, and the relative abundance of Proteobacteria in the cecal flora of broilers in BS1 group increased; at the genus level, compared with CON, the relative abundance of Bacteroides and Akkermansia in the cecal flora of broilers in MIX Ⅱ group increased. In summary, dietary supplementation of Bacillus subtilis or Chitosan oligosaccharides alone or their combination can promote the growth performance, improve meat quality, enhance the diversity and richness of cecal flora, and ensure the healthy growth of broilers to a certain extent.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |