Effects of heat stress on the intestinal microorganisms in poultry and its nutritional regulations: a review

SUMMARY

The gastrointestinal tract of poultry harbours several intestinal microorganisms that play a major role in their growth and development. Heat stress is one of the major challenges of breeding poultry, as it reduces the production performance, decreases the feed intake and the feed conversion rate, increases the mortality rate and reduces the diversity of intestinal microorganisms. However, our understanding of the relationship between the intestinal microbial ecosystem of poultry and heat stress is limited. This paper summarised the current understanding of the composition and function of intestinal microorganisms, the effect of heat stress on intestinal microorganisms and the ability of different anti-heat stress additives to alleviate the effects of heat stress on the intestinal microorganisms in poultry.

KEYWORDS:

• Heat stress
• intestinal microorganisms
• nutrition

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the earmarked fund for Jiangsu Agricultural Industry Technology System (JATS [2022]406), and Su Xi Broiler Industry Cluster Project.

Notes on contributors

Qingyi Chen

Qingyi Chen currently working toward the M.S. degree in Animal Science and Technology in Huanan Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China. Her research interests include Gut Immunity.

Zhenxin Wang

Zhenxin Wang received the M.S. degree in Animal Science and Technology from Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China. His research interests include Animal Nutrition and Feed Science.

Dan Shao

Dan Shao received the Ph.D. degree in Animal Science and Technology from Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, China. Her research interests include Animal Nutrition and Feed Science.

Shourong Shi

Shourong Shi received the Ph.D. degree in Animal Science and Technology from Chinese Agricultural University, Beijing, China. His research interests include Animal Nutrition and Feed Science.