U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Food and Feed Safety Research: College Station, TX
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Plains Area College Station, Texas Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center Food and Feed Safety Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            SAENGKERDSUB, SUWAT - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYitem
                                            Anderson, Robinitem
                                            WILKINSON, HEATHER - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYitem
                                            KIM, WOO-KYUN - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYitem
                                            Nisbet, Daviditem
                                            RICKE, STEVEN - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
  Submitted to: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 10/27/2006
                                    Publication  Date: 1/20/2007
                                    Citation: Saengkerdsub, S., Anderson, R.C., Wilkinson, H.H., Kim, W., Nisbet, D.J., Ricke, S.C. 2007. Identification and quantification of methanogenic archaea in adult chicken ceca. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 3:353-356.Interpretive Summary: Methane-producing bacteria are a special group of bacteria known to negatively affect the efficiency of digestion by microbial populations within the gastrointestinal tract of cattle and sheep.  Because little is known about these bacteria in the gut of chickens, using molecular methods to identify and quantify the number and different types of methane-producing bacteria in the gut of an adult chicken.  We found that unlike methane-producing populations in cattle and sheep, most (91%) of the methane producing bacteria identified in the chicken gut were very closely related and belonged to the same genetic group, Methanobrevibacter woesei.   We also found that the chicken gut can harbour between 10,000 to 100,000,000 methane-producing bacteria per 1 gram of gut content which is quite similar to that found in the gut of cattle and sheep.  These results show that chickens can harbour high numbers of methane-producing bacteria just as cattle and sheep do, although those in the chicken appear to be mostly of one type.  Because large numbers of methane-producing bacteria can have an adverse affect on digestion, this research may ultimately help poultry producers more efficiently grow their chickens at less cost, thereby producing better and less expensive poultry products for the American consumer.
                                Technical Abstract: Methanogens, members of the domain Archaea, have been isolated from various animals but few reports exists regarding the isolation of methanogens from chicken, goose, and turkey feces.  By using molecular methods for the identification and quantification of methanogenic archea in adult chicken ceca, 16S rRNA genes of 11 different phylotypes, 10 of which were 99% similar to Methanobrevibacter woesei, were found.  Methanogen populations, as assessed by cultivation, and the 16S rRNA copy number were between 6.38 to 8.23 (wet weight) and 5.50 to 7.19 log10 per gram (wet weight), respectively.  In conclusion, by using culture independent approaches and MPN enumeration, the results show that the methanogen community was less diverse in chicken ceca than in other animal habitats and that in chicken cecas, M. woesei was the predominant methanogen.  The population levels of methanogenic archaea inhabiting this ecosystem were also similar to those in the other domestic animals.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov