Gut microbiota has a profound impact on host metabolism and immune development. Appropriate modulation of gut microbiota could lead to enhanced nutrient absorption and utilization and immune function, which will in turn lead to an improvement in production performance and immune defense of food-producing animals. Antibiotics are commonly used in the feed to promote animal growth and disease prevention and they do so primarily by reshaping gut microbiota. However, an increasing number of countries including the United States and European countries have restricted the in-feed use of antibiotics in order to minimize the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Various classes of alternatives to antibiotics have been developed and novel gut microbiota modulating strategies are being investigated. It is hugely important to study the impact of these antibiotic alternatives on the structure and function of gut microbiota. A detailed understanding of their influence on gut microbiota and how the structural and functional microbiota changes induced by antibiotic alternatives are comparable to those induced by antibiotics will lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of action of antibiotic alternatives and facilitate the development of more efficacious alternative products to replace antibiotics.
The Research Topic proposed here will focus on the impact and the related mechanism of action of various alternatives of antibiotics on gut microbiota. Studies and review papers addressing the impact of alternatives to antibiotics on structural and functional changes of gut microbiota. Topics related to the mechanism of gut microbiota alterations caused by exposure to antibiotics will be also considered.
Gut microbiota has a profound impact on host metabolism and immune development. Appropriate modulation of gut microbiota could lead to enhanced nutrient absorption and utilization and immune function, which will in turn lead to an improvement in production performance and immune defense of food-producing animals. Antibiotics are commonly used in the feed to promote animal growth and disease prevention and they do so primarily by reshaping gut microbiota. However, an increasing number of countries including the United States and European countries have restricted the in-feed use of antibiotics in order to minimize the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Various classes of alternatives to antibiotics have been developed and novel gut microbiota modulating strategies are being investigated. It is hugely important to study the impact of these antibiotic alternatives on the structure and function of gut microbiota. A detailed understanding of their influence on gut microbiota and how the structural and functional microbiota changes induced by antibiotic alternatives are comparable to those induced by antibiotics will lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of action of antibiotic alternatives and facilitate the development of more efficacious alternative products to replace antibiotics.
The Research Topic proposed here will focus on the impact and the related mechanism of action of various alternatives of antibiotics on gut microbiota. Studies and review papers addressing the impact of alternatives to antibiotics on structural and functional changes of gut microbiota. Topics related to the mechanism of gut microbiota alterations caused by exposure to antibiotics will be also considered.
