Open AccessReview
Gut Microbiota Implications for Health and Welfare in Farm Animals: A Review
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Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China
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Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Janeen L. Salak-Johnson
Received: 16 October 2021
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Revised: 24 December 2021
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Accepted: 28 December 2021
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Published: 31 December 2021
Simple Summary
Farm animal health and welfare have been paid increasing concern in the world, which is generally assessed by the measurements of physical health, immune response, behavior, and physiological indicators, such as stress-related hormone, cortisone, and norepinephrine. Gut microbiota as a “forgotten organ” has been reported for its great influence on the host phenotypes through the immune, neural, and endocrine pathways to affect the host health and behavior. In addition, fecal microbiota transplantation as a novel approach is applied to regulating the composition and function of the recipient farm animals. In this review, we summarized recent studies that gut microbiota influenced health, immunity, behavior, and stress response, as well as the progress of fecal microbiota transplantation in farm animals. The review will provide new insights into the measurement of farm animal health and welfare concerning gut microbiota, and the implication of fecal microbiota transplantation to improve productivity, health, and welfare. Above all, this review suggests that gut microbiota is a promising field to evaluate and improve animal welfare.