Quantitative analysis of the intestinal bacterial community in one- to three-week-old commercially reared broiler chickens fed conventional or antibiotic-free vegetable-based diets

Abstract

A quantitative taxonomic understanding of the shifting microbial ecology of the broiler chicken gut microbiota is important in the light of AGP withdrawal. AGP withdrawal has occurred in response to concerns over the transfer of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to humans via the food production chain.