Linkage between the intestinal microbiota and residual feed intake in broiler chickens.

Our results highlight the complexity of the intestinal microbiota and a need to differentiate the bacteria to the species, subspecies, and even strain levels in order to reveal their true association with feed efficiency. Identification of RFI-associated bacteria provides important leads to manipulate the intestinal microbiota for improving production efficiency, profitability, and sustainability of poultry production.