Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology

Recombinant Lactobacillus could play the role of a probiotic besides other new functions. This experiment aimed to study the gut adhesion ability of recombinant Lactobacilli and its effect on the digestibility of crude fibre in chicks. The adhesion ability of Lactobacilli was observed through in vitro and in vivo tests. Intestinal epithelial cells and recombinant Lactobacillus were co-cultured for observation of adhesion in the in vitro study. A total of 100 one-d-old chicks were randomly divided into four equal groups, namely, C15, C73, C15–73 and control. Each chick in C15, C73, C15–73 and control groups were orally gavaged with 200 μL each of fermentation broth of recombinant Lactobacillus reuteri XNY-Cel15 (C15), recombinant Lactobacillus reuteri XNY-Cel73 (C73) and both containing 100 μl each of XNY-Cel15 and XNY-Cel73 (C15B), or 200 μL of MRS broth (control), respectively, once at the beginning of the trial. The digestibility of crude fibre was determined through a digestion trial. Results of in vitro study showed that recombinant Lactobacillus reuteri adhered to chick intestinal epithelial cells. After feeding for 30 d, the reporter genes of recombinant Lactobacillus were detected in the crop, small intestine, and cecum of chicks, with their sequences corresponding to those of the insert genes. The digestibility of crude fibre in the experimental groups was higher than that in the control group, and the digestibility in C15 group was significantly (P<0.01) higher than other groups. It is concluded that the recombinant Lactobacillus can survive in the digestive tract of chicken for more than 30 d, and help to degrade the crude fibre in the digestive tract.