The potential role of palygorskite and probiotics complex on the laying performance and faecal microbial community in Xuefeng black-bone chicken

Figures & data

Table 1. Composition and nutrient levels of the experimental diets (dry matter basis).

Item	Content
Ingredient (%, unless otherwise indicated)
Corn	65.00
Soybean meal	25.00
Limestone	6.50
CaHPO4	1.00
Premix^a	2.50
Total	100.00
Calculated nutrient composition
Metabolisable energy (MJ/kg)	11.30
Crude protein	16.78
Lys	0.78
Met + Cys	0.55
Met	0.27
Ca	3.50
Available P	0.30

^aPremix provided per kilogram of diet: vitamin A 9000 IU, vitamin D3 2500 IU, vitamin E 20 IU, vitamin B2 5.5 mg, vitamin K3 1 mg, Cu 8 mg, Fe (as ferrous sulphate) 75 mg, Zn (as zinc sulphate) 60 mg, Mn (as manganese sulphate) 75 mg, Se (as sodium selenite) 0.30 mg, I (as potassium iodide) 1 mg, Ca 6.75 g, P 1.125 g, NaCl 3.50 g, folic acid 0.75 mg, nicotinamide 30 mg, pantothenic acid 9 mg.

Table 2. 16S rDNA sequencing primer sequences.

Region	Primer sequence (5′→3′)
V3–V4	341F:CCTACGGGNGGCWGCAG
	805R:GACTACHVGGGTATCTAATCC

F: forward primer; R: reverse primer.

Table 3. Effects of palygorskite and probiotics complex (Pal–Pro) on laying performance of Xuefeng black-bone chicken.^a

Item	Groups^b				SEM	p Value
	A	B	C	D		ANOVA	Linear	Quadratic
Egg weight (g)	49.53	48.76	48.98	49.70	0.206	0.335	0.796	0.078
Laying rate (%)	48.68	51.07	52.23	53.85	0.650	0.096	0.004	0.733
DFI (g/day)	84.35	85.53	86.47	86.18	0.501	0.473	0.140	0.934
FCR	3.51	3.44	3.39	3.29	0.036	0.181	0.048	0.360

^aData are means of 6 replicates with 18 hens per treatment.

^bGroup A: 0 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group B: 250 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group C: 500 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group D: 750 mg/kg Pal–Pro.

ANOVA: analysis of variance; DFI: daily feed intake; FCR: Feed conversion ratio; Pal–Pro: palygorskite and probiotics complex; SEM: scanning electron microscope.

Table 4. Effects of palygorskite and probiotics complex (Pal–Pro) on Alpha diversity of faecal flora of Xuefeng black-bone chicken.^a

Items	Groups^b				SEM	p Value
	A	B	C	D		ANOVA	Linear	Quadratic
Goods_coverage	99.99	99.98	99.99	99.99	0.002	0.480	0.330	0.177
Observed_species	277.00	320.50	291.40	286.50	12.532	0.656	0.581	0.683
Chao1	278.35	322.72	292.58	287.21	12.653	0.643	0.590	0.675
Shannon	5.04	5.29	5.00	5.29	0.112	0.722	0.667	0.940
Simpson	0.92	0.93	0.93	0.93	0.006	0.985	0.977	0.931

^aData are means of six samples per treatment.

^bGroup A: 0 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group B: 250 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group C: 500 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group D: 750 mg/kg Pal–Pro.

ANOVA: analysis of variance; Pal–Pro: palygorskite and probiotics complex.

Figure 1. The abundance of faecal flora of Xuefeng black-bone chicken at phylum level. Group A: 0 mg/kg palygorskite and probiotics complex (Pal–Pro); group B: 250 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group C: 500 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group D: 750 mg/kg Pal–Pro.

Figure 2. Effects of palygorskite and probiotics complex (Pal–Pro) on faecal flora at phylum level of Xuefeng black-bone chicken. (1) group A: 0 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group B: 250 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group C: 500 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group D: 750 mg/kg Pal–Pro. (2) *p < .05.

Figure 3. The abundance of faecal flora of Xuefeng black-bone chicken at genus level. Group A: 0 mg/kg palygorskite and probiotics complex (Pal–Pro); group B: 250 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group C: 500 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group D: 750 mg/kg Pal–Pro.

Figure 4. Effects of palygorskite and probiotics complex (Pal–Pro) on faecal flora at genus level of Xuefeng black-bone chicken. (1) group A: 0 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group B: 250 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group C: 500 mg/kg Pal–Pro; group D: 750 mg/kg Pal–Pro. (2) *p < .05.

Figure 5. Correlation between faecal microbiome at genus level and laying performance of Xuefeng black-bone chicken. *p < .05; **p < .01. DFI: daily feed intake; EW: egg weight; FCR: Feed conversion ratio; LR: laying rate.