Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (11): 3880-3891.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2022.11.014

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Enterococcus faecium and Bacillus subtilis on GrowthPerformance, Carcass Traits and Immune Function of Squabs

HAN Pengmin1,2, ZHANG Ran1, BIAN Shixiong1, LI Yunlei1, NI Aixin1, WANG Yuanmei1, ZONG Yunhe1, ZHAO Jinmeng1, YUAN Jingwei1, SUN Yanyan1, LI Jianhui2, CHEN Jilan1*, MA Hui1*   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Animal (Poultry) Genetics Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China;
    2. College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
  • Received:2021-12-13 Online:2022-11-23 Published:2022-11-25

Abstract: This study was designed to investigate the effects of Enterococcus faecium and Bacillus subtilis addition alone and mixed addition on growth performance, carcass traits and immune function of squabs, in order to explore the regulatory mechanism of probiotics on squabs growth. Two hundred and forty squabs at 12 days of age with similar body weight were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups, including the control group, Enterococcus faecium group, Bacillus subtilis group and mixed group, with 6 replicates per group and 10 squabs per replicate. The trial lasted for 16 days. At the end of the experiment, two squabs from each replicate (a total of 48 pigeons) were randomly selected. Serum immune indices, muscle quality, liver antioxidant indices and growth-related genes expression levels were determined. The results showed that:1) Compared with the control group, the average daily gain of squabs in the Enterococcus faecium group was significantly induced and was significantly higher than that of the other groups(P<0.05), while the Bacillus subtilis group significantly decreased the average daily gain of squabs(P<0.05); 2) There were no significant differences in the slaughter rate, semi-clear rate, full-clear rate, pectoral muscle rate, leg muscle rate or abdominal fat rate of squabs in each treatment group(P>0.05); Compared with control group, the brightness of breast muscle in Enterococcus faecium group and mixed group were significantly increased(P<0.05), and the redness of breast muscle in mixed group were significantly increased(P<0.05); 3) Compared with the control group, both Enterococcus faecium group and mixed group could significantly increase the contents of IgG in serum of squabs(P<0.05), and thymus index and bursa of fabricius index were significantly increased in mixed group(P<0.05). Serum GLB in Enterococcus faecium group was significantly higher than that in the control group, but there were no significant effect on the other serum biochemical indexes among all groups(P>0.05); 4) Compared with control group, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in Enterococcus faecium group was significantly higher (P<0.05), the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in mixed group was significantly higher (P<0.05); 5) The mRNA expression of GH and IGF-1 in liver of three experimental groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), and the mRNA expression of GHR in liver of Bacillus subtilis group as significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, Enterococcus faecium can significantly increased the average daily gain of squabs, while Bacillus subtilis had the oppsite effect; Enterococcus faecium can improve the meat quality, enhance the immune capacity and antioxidant capacity, thus promote the growth of squabs.

Key words: Enterococcus faecium, Bacillus subtilis, squabs, growth performance, immunity

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