Effects of heat stress on the intestinal microorganisms in poultry and its nutritional regulations: a review

SUMMARYThe gastrointestinal tract of poultry harbours several intestinal microorganisms that play a major role in their growth and development. Heat stress is one of the major challenges of breeding poultry, as it reduces the production performance, decreases the feed intake and the feed conversion rate, increases the mortality rate and reduces the diversity of intestinal microorganisms. However, our understanding of the relationship between the intestinal microbial ecosystem of poultry and heat stress is limited. This paper summarised the current understanding of the composition and function of intestinal microorganisms, the effect of heat stress on intestinal microorganisms and the ability of different anti-heat stress additives to alleviate the effects of heat stress on the intestinal microorganisms in poultry.