ArticlePloS one2026
Effect of reused litter on early cecal microbiota succession and the immune cells distribution in layer chickens.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study was designed to evaluate early immune development and gut microbiome establishment in layer chicks reared on reused or fresh litter. A total of 160 newly hatched female Hy-Line W80 layer were housed on fresh or used litter (n = 80/group). Body weight was recorded weekly, ceca, ileum and spleen samples were collected at days 7 and 35 for gut microbiome analysis and intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) study. Results showed that layer chicks reared on fresh litter exhibited significantly higher body weight compared with layer chicks reared on used litter from day 14 to day 35 (P < 0.05), while mortality remained low and was not significantly different between groups. Cecal microbiota analysis revealed significant litter-associated differences in alpha and beta diversity at day 7 (P < 0.05). However, by day 35, microbial richness and overall community composition were no longer significantly different between treatments. At the phylum level, Bacillota was the dominant phylum in both litter groups at days 7 and 35. Pseudomonadota was the second most abundant phylum at day 7, whereas Bacteroidota became the second most abundant phylum by day 35. This shift indicates age related maturation of the cecal microbial community. In terms of immune responses, no significant difference was found in IEL subsets at day 7 between litter groups. However, by 35 days, the used litter exposure resulted in a significant expansion of TCR ⁻ , TCRγδ + , TCRαβ, TCRαβ ⁺ CD8αβ⁺ and TCRαβ + CD8αα + IEL subsets (P < 0.05). Similarly, splenic TCRγδ+ and TCRαβ + CD8αβ+ populations were significantly elevated in used litter layer chicks at day 35. These findings highlight that exposure to different litter environment was associated with distinct cecal microbial profiles and immune-cell distributions in layer chicks. Given the limited information available in laying hens, these results provide novel baseline data and support further studies investigating the role of litter-associated microbial exposure in shaping early immune development.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.