The impacts of reducing antibiotics on the intestinal microbiota diversity of commercial broiler chickens

Public health concerns about the impact of antibiotic use on antimicrobial resistance has challenged the current use of antibiotics in broiler chicken. For this reason, the Chair in Poultry Research of the Université de Montréal led a large-scale project in the province of Quebec to study the impacts of antibiotic reduction strategies on broiler chickens’ health when compared to the conventional use of antibiotics in commercial farms. Intestinal content from 1008 broiler chickens was recovered to study the association between the microbiota and chickens’ health. Indeed, there are increasing evidences showing the intestinal microbiota being a complex organization interacting with its host and having a predominant role in health and diseases. The goal of this project is to study the impacts of reducing antibiotics on the intestinal microbiota diversity. It is expected to increase the current knowledge on the microbiota diversity in commercial broiler chicken farms and to have a better understanding of the role of the microbiota in intestinal diseases affecting broiler chickens

Faculty Supervisor:

Martine Boulianne

Student:

Partner:

RMIT University

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

Université de Montréal

Program: