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. 2025 Jul 23:12:1619287.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1619287. eCollection 2025.

Bacillus paralicheniformis LN33 fermented feed improves growth performance in Cherry Valley ducks by enhancing immune function and intestinal barrier integrity

Yilong Jiang #  1 , Xiaofei Yang #  2 , Yi Lei  1 , Songlin Li  1 , Xianxin Chen  1 , Li Jiang  2
Affiliations

Bacillus paralicheniformis LN33 fermented feed improves growth performance in Cherry Valley ducks by enhancing immune function and intestinal barrier integrity

Yilong Jiang et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Introduction: This study investigated the effects of feed fermented with Bacillus paralicheniformis LN33 on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune response, intestinal barrier function, and gut microbiota in Cherry Valley ducks.

Methods: A total of 480 healthy 7-day-old Cherry Valley ducks (197.33 ± 5.90 g) were randomly divided into four groups. One group received a basal diet (control), while the other three received the basal diet supplemented with 1%, 3%, or 5% fermented feed for 28 days.

Results: Ducks fed 3% fermented feed showed significantly higher final body weight (3,020.00 ± 52.20 g) and average daily gain (100.79 ± 1.73 g) than the control group (2,896.00 ± 120.93 g and 96.39 ± 4.23 g, respectively; P < 0.05). The feed-to-gain ratio decreased significantly (1.79 ± 0.03 vs. 1.87 ± 0.08; P < 0.05), with similar feed intake across groups. Antioxidant enzyme activity increased, while pro-inflammatory cytokine levels decreased. Expression of intestinal tight junction proteins and immune markers improved. The relative abundances of Faecalibacterium, Odoribacter, and Butyricicoccus increased significantly and were positively correlated with intestinal and immune function.

Discussion: These results suggest that B. paralicheniformis-fermented feed enhances growth performance and overall health in Cherry Valley ducks by boosting antioxidant defenses, modulating immune responses, and reshaping the gut microbiota.

Keywords: Bacillus paralicheniformis LN33; Cherry Valley ducks; fermented feed; growth performance; immune function; intestinal barrier.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of fermented feed on serum antioxidant capacity and immunoglobulin levels. Different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of fermented feed on serum inflammatory factors. Different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of fermented feed on intestinal morphology. (A) Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining images of the ileum, jejunum, and duodenum. (B) Villus height in the ileum, jejunum, and duodenum. (C) Crypt depth in the ileum, jejunum, and duodenum. (D) Villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH/CD) in the ileum, jejunum, and duodenum. Different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of fermented feed on intestinal gene expression. Different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of fermented feed on intestinal microbiota in meat ducks. (A) ASV Venn graph. (B) Chao1 index. (C) Observed species index. (D) Shannon index. (E) Unweighted UniFrac PCoA analysis. (F) Weighted UniFrac PCoA analysis. (G) Simpson index. (H) Unweighted UniFrac Distance Beta Diversity Analysis. (I) Weighted UniFrac Distance Beta Diversity Analysis. Color intensity represents sample similarity (blue: higher similarity; red: lower similarity).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effects of fermented feed on the intestinal microbiota structure in meat ducks. (A) Community-level bar plot. (B) Heatmap of the top 15 phyla. (C) Heatmap of the top 15 genera. (D) Abundance of the top 15 phyla. (E) Abundance of the top 15 classes. (F) Abundance of the top 15 orders. (G) Abundance of the top 15 families. (H) Abundance of the top 15 genera. (I) Abundance of the top 15 species. (J) Phylogenetic tree of the top 50 ASVs. (K) Heatmap of the top 50 ASVs. Red indicates higher relative abundance, and blue indicates lower relative abundance.
Figure 7
Figure 7
LEfSe analysis/16S-based COG functional prediction/16S-based KEGG functional prediction. (A) Differential species LDA score plot (B) Cladogram of annotated differential species (C) Heatmap of differential COG results (D) Bar chart of differential COG results (E) Heatmap of differential KEGG results (F) Bar chart of differential KEGG results. COG1278: Cold shock protein, CspA family; COG0627: S-formylglutathione hydrolase FrmB; COG4646: Adenine-specific DNA methylase, N12 class; COG0381:UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase; COG0598:Mg2+ and Co2+ transporter CorA; COG0030:16S rRNA A1518 and A1519 N6-dimethyltransferase RsmA/KsgA/DIM1 (may also have DNA glycosylase/AP lyase activity). Red color; a positive correlation, blue color; a negative correlation.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Correlation heatmap (A) Correlation between gut microbiota at the phylum level and serum antioxidants, immunoglobulins, and inflammatory factors. (B) Correlation between gut microbiota at the genus level and serum antioxidants, immunoglobulins, and inflammatory factors. In the figure, orange-red represents a positive correlation, and blue represents a negative correlation. The deeper the color, the stronger the correlation, while the closer the color is to white, the closer the correlation is to zero. Asterisks in the figure indicate significance: *** represents a correlation P-value <0.001, ** represents a correlation P-value <0.01, and * represents a correlation P-value <0.05 (indicating significant correlation).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Mechanisms of the impact of dietary Bacillus paralicheniformis LN33 fermented feed on the health of Cherry Valley ducks.
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