Bacillus species as potential probiotics for poultry: Role of xylanase production

Probiotics contain bacteria that are beneficial to the gut and have demonstrated to improve the health status of production animals including improved growth performance, protection against intestinal pathogens and enhanced immunity. The mechanisms of how these effects are achieved remains poorly understood. Thus, the overarching purpose of this thesis was to select and examine novel Bacillus strains for their potential as probiotics for poultry. The work showed Bacillus is a good source of probiotic bacteria and is safe to feed to poultry. These outcomes provided new insights into relationships between diet, probiotic species, and the intestinal microbiota of poultry