News — Chicago (April 15, 2025) — A new study found that a pair of probiotics fed to broiler chickens successfully persisted in the animals’ digestive tract, making the bacterial species promising candidates to improve poultry health. One of the species used in the experimental freeze-dried encapsulate, E. coli Nissle 1917 (ECN), is derived from the human gut and has never before been detected in chickens.
Coming amid a bird flu epidemic that has caused outbreaks in poultry flocks worldwide, the research points to new opportunities to bolster the health of chickens raised for meat and eggs and potentially reduce the toll of infectious diseases in the poultry industry.
“Gut health is very important for humans and chickens,” said Thyneice Taylor-Bowden, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Tennessee State University and the study’s first author. “Currently, we are seeing what happens in our economy when chickens are affected by a disease, and this study can provide additional aid to animal health and ultimately keep consumers healthy.”
Taylor-Bowden will present the new research at the , which is being held April 12–15 in Chicago.
In addition to bird flu, the poultry industry regularly faces outbreaks of bacterial diseases such as salmonella, a challenge that has been compounded by the overuse of antibiotics and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Researchers are studying how incorporating probiotics into poultry feed could help to address this problem by improving the animals’ defenses against bacterial infections as well as enhancing their growth and overall health.
Consuming probiotics can encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. However, many probiotics may simply break down during digestion or be excreted as waste, so finding probiotic species that can successfully colonize and thrive within the digestive tract is a key challenge.
The two species tested in the new study were Lactobacillus reuteri and ECN, both of which are widely available as probiotic supplements to improve digestive health in humans. L. reuteri is found naturally in the guts of humans, chickens and other animals and has previously been shown to improve broiler chicken health. ECN was isolated from human feces but is not a natural component of the gut microbiome in chickens.
Researchers incorporated the two probiotics into the feed of 160 chickens from the day they hatched until they were 5 weeks old. Samples taken from the intestine showed that both bacterial species had successfully survived the pH changes encountered along the chickens’ digestive tract and colonized the gut microbiome.
“We were able to detect the presence of L. reuteri and ECN in samples from the gut of broiler chickens that were fed diets that contained L. reuteri and ECN,” said Taylor-Bowden. “The presence of these probiotics after feeding is important because they can prevent other harmful bacteria from taking up space in the gastrointestinal tract of chickens, which could help decrease bacterial infections by harmful bacteria.”
Further research is needed to determine whether this probiotic formulation improves chickens’ health, growth or resistance to disease. Next, the researchers plan to analyze the abundance of each of the probiotic species along with the broader diversity of bacteria in the gut microbiome to test their hypothesis that a higher abundance of beneficial bacteria could help to crowd out pathogenic bacteria.
Taylor-Bowden will present this research from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, April 15, at the Lakeside Center of the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. Contact the media team for more information.
About the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)
The ASBMB is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with more than 12,000 members worldwide. Founded in 1906 to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology, the society publishes three peer-reviewed journals, advocates for funding of basic research and education, supports science education at all levels, and promotes the diversity of individuals entering the scientific workforce.
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