{"id":143847,"date":"2021-06-18T08:34:15","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T18:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=143847"},"modified":"2021-06-18T08:34:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T18:34:15","slug":"feral-chicken-guts-hold-clues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/06\/18\/feral-chicken-guts-hold-clues\/","title":{"rendered":"Feral chicken guts hold clues to improving health"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

\"feral<\/p>\n

In Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, there is a relatively high number of feral chickens, commonly seen on roads and in parking lots. These feral chickens are of scientific interest, as they can provide clues about the modern-day chicken\u2019s biology. However, until now, there was limited or no knowledge of the gut microbiota of these feral birds. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s according to Professor Rajesh Jha<\/strong> of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR<\/abbr>) Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"male\"<\/p>\n

For the first time, Jha\u2019s research team sequenced the intestinal microbiota of the Hawaiian feral chicken and explored the cecal (referring to a specific part of the intestine) microbiota profile of commercial chickens.<\/p>\n

“Since microbial populations are instrumental to their host\u2019s health, we hope that our work will help determine what bacteria are dominant and what potential roles they play, either beneficial or non-beneficial,” said Jha. “Knowing the healthy gut microbiota composition provides opportunities to develop strategies to modify it for improving host performance, immunity and the food safety of meat animals.”<\/p>\n

Studying the microbial community profiles for feral and commercial chickens will be instrumental in understanding the breed differences in development, health, digestion, nutrient absorption and immunity.<\/p>\n

The study appears in Poultry Science<\/em><\/a>. More information about poultry nutrition and gut health can be found on the CTAHR<\/abbr> Animal Nutrition Group website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

This work is an example of UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s goal of Excellence in Research: Advancing the Research and Creative Work Enterprise<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), one of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), updated in December 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Studying the microbial community profiles for feral and commercial chickens will be instrumental in understanding the breed differences in development, health, digestion, nutrient absorption and immunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[212,1485,1467,1363,9],"class_list":["post-143847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-human-nutrition-food-and-animal-sciences","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t