Probiotic Administration Correlated with Reduced Diarrheal Incidence and Improved Gut Microbiota Diversity in Young Goats

Mohamed Osman Abdalrahem Essa¹Cheng Cheng²Jun Li²Xiao Han²Zhong Kang Wei²Layla Ahmed Mohammed Abdelhadi²Huda Ahmed Hassan²Saber Y. Adam³Hosameldeen Mohamed Husien⁴Ahmed Saleh⁵Darong Cheng^6*

• ¹1College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China. 2 College of Veterinary Medicine, Albutana University, Rufaa, 22217, Sudan., Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
• ²1College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
• ³College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China., Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
• ⁴2 College of Veterinary Medicine, Albutana University, Rufaa, 22217, Sudan. 3 College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China., Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
• ⁵3 College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China. 4 Animal and Fish Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Al-Shatby), Alexandria University, Alexandria City 11865, Egypt., Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
• ⁶1College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu. 5 Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China., Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China

Probiotic interventions in young livestock are gaining attention for their potential health benefits. This study involved 15 weaned goat kids (2-3 months old; 10-15 kg body weight), including 10 healthy kids and 5 diarrheic kids. The kids were divided into three groups: Healthy Control (H, no treatment), Probiotic-Treated Healthy (T), and Diarrheic + Probiotic-Treated (D). All kids were maintained under standardized environmental conditions and fed a controlled diet (60% corn, 15% pea skin, 15% silage, 5% hay and 1% vitaminmineral additives). Probiotic bacteria Enterococcus faecium and Bacteroides fragilis were administered via oral gavage at a concentration of (1×10 9 ) CFU/mL for five consecutive days.Fecal samples were collected for sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene to analyze microbial composition. Healthy groups exhibited significantly greater species richness and diversity compared to the diarrheal group (p < 0.01). The predominant phyla identified were Pseudomonadota, Bacteroidetes, and Bacillota. Increased levels of Xylanibacter, UCG-055, Bacteroides, and Escherichia-Shigella were noted in healthy treated kids, while Prevotellaceae UG_001 and Proteus decreased. The findings highlight significant gut microbiota differences between healthy and diarrheal kids, suggesting that modifications in gut microbiota composition could alleviate diarrhea, contributing to preventive and therapeutic strategies for this condition.