Chapter 1: Gastrointestinal Tract Barrier Efficiency: Function And Threats -- Chapter 2: Gut Health In Production Animals: Butyrate And Intestinal Homeostasis - Effects On The Intestinal Microbiota And Epithelial Hypoxia -- Chapter 3: The Role Of Farm Environment And Management In Shaping The Gut Microbiota Of Poultry -- Chapter 4: Enzymes And Gut Health In Monogastric Animals: Effects Beyond Digestibility -- Chapter 5: Gut Microbiome And Poultry Health -- Chapter 6: Influence Of Sow Gut Microbiota On Colostrum And Piglet Performance -- Chapter 7: Porcine Gut Microbiota And Host Interactions During The Transition From The Suckling To Post-Weaning Phase -- Chapter 8: Adaptive Poultry Gut Capacity To Resist Oxidative Stress -- Chapter 9: Gut Microbiota And The Gut-Brain Axis In Neonatal Calves: Implications For Psychobiotic Usage For Stress Regulation -- Chapter 10: The Gut Mycobiome And Animal Health -- Chapter 11: Immunological Mechanisms Of Probiotics In Chickens -- Chapter 12: Role Of Early Life Intestinal Microbiota In Modulating Immunity In Broiler Chickens -- Chapter 13: Managing Intestinal Health In Farm Animals: A Critical View -- Chapter 14: Pre- And Probiotic Effects On Innate Immunity And Metabolism In Cattle And Swine -- Chapter 15: The Unseen Minority: Biogeographical Investigations Of The Ruminant Gastrointestinal Microbiome Highlight The Importance Of Frequently Ignored Anatomical Regions.

This work sheds new light on the interplay between the gut, gut microbiota, and host physiological processes in production animals. The gut microbiome shapes health and susceptibility to disease and has become a leading area of research in the animal sciences. Gut health encompasses a number of physiological and functional features. Nutrient digestion and absorption, host metabolism and energy generation, a stable microbiome, mucus layer development, barrier function, and mucosal immune responses; all of which are required to interact to make an animal perform physiologically and according to its greatest genetic potential. This carefully presented book broadens our vision, approach and results on gut health and the ability to regulate animal production. Understanding the chemistry of microbiomes has broad implications, including providing functional annotations for the microbial genomes, insights into the chemical languages that link microbes to each other and to their host, and translational implications for precision veterinary medicine, environmental health, and sustainable animal agriculture and welfare. Experts working in microbiome research, host immunity, and animal production, veterinarians and researchers in livestock science will understand the great importance of this volume.