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Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Recombinant Plectasin on Growth Performance, Intestinal Health and Innate Immunity Response in Broilers

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Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of recombinant plectasin (Ple) on the growth performance, intestinal health, and serum immune parameters in broilers. A total of 288 1-day-old male broilers (Arbor Acres) were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments including the basal diet (NC) and basal diet supplemented with 10 mg enramycin/kg (PC), 100 mg Ple/kg (LPle), and 200 mg Ple/kg (HPle) diets. The results indicated Ple increased (P < 0.01) average daily gain and decreased (P ≤ 0.02) feed to gain ratio of broilers. In addition, the supplementation of Ple in the diets increased (P ≤ 0.01) duodenal lipase (day 21) and trypsin (day 42) activities compared with the NC group. Similar as the supplementation of enramycin, Ple also increased villus height and decreased crypt depth in jejunum (day 21), and thus the villus height to crypt depth ratio (P < 0.01) was increased compared to the NC group on day 42. The serum immunoglobulin M (days 21 and 42), immunoglobulin G (day 42), complement 3 (day 21), and complement 4 (days 21 and 42) were significantly increased (P ≤ 0.02) due to the supplementation of Ple and enramycin, while the concentration of malondialdehyde in jejunum was decreased (P < 0.01) in PC, LPle, and HPle groups on day 21 compared with those in the NC group. Furthermore, Ple reduced (P < 0.01) Escherichia coli and total aerobic bacteria population in ileum and cecum of birds on days 21 and 42. These results indicate that the recombinant plectasin has beneficial effects on growth performance, intestinal health, and innate immunity in broilers.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFD0500600), the Opening Foundation of Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Materials of Jiangsu Province (JSBEM2016013), and a Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201403047).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Lin Ma, Jing Zhang, Yong Peng Guo, Qiu Gang Ma, Cheng Ji & Li Hong Zhao

  2. National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Li Hua Zhao

  3. Guangdong Hinabiotech Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, 511493, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Dan Dan Sun & Zhi Qiang Zhang

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  1. Jing Lin Ma
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Correspondence to Li Hong Zhao.

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All experimental procedures were approved by the animal care and management committee of China Agriculture University. All diets were formulated to meet Aviagen broiler nutrient recommendations.

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Ma, J.L., Zhao, L.H., Sun, D.D. et al. Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Recombinant Plectasin on Growth Performance, Intestinal Health and Innate Immunity Response in Broilers. Probiotics & Antimicro. Prot. 12, 214–223 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-019-9515-2

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