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Abstract
1. Changes in bacterial and fungal communities in chicken litter with high and low moisture content over a five week period during a single chicken grow out cycle in a poultry shed in subtropical Australia were investigated to study the association between specific microbes and odour production.
2. Microbial biomass, as indicated by DNA yields, was higher and community composition was more dynamic over time in moist compared with dry chicken litter.
3. Bacillus, Atopostipes and Aspergillus species increased in relative abundance in moist chicken litter samples over time reflecting the relatively high fitness and hence activity of these specific bacteria and this specific fungus in this environment.
Acknowledgements
Sania Wadud and this work were supported by a postgraduate research scholarship from the Poultry Cooperative Research Centre. Mike Manefield was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre.