Longitudinal survey of total airborne bacterial and archaeal concentrations and bacterial diversity in enriched colony housing and aviaries for laying hens
Abstract
Conventional cages for laying hens will be banned in Canada as of 2036, and the egg industry is transitioning toward enriched colony housing and aviaries. While higher concentrations of particulate matter have been previously reported in aviaries and other cage-free housing systems, concentrations of total bacteria and archaea suspended in the air are still uncharacterized in Canadian enriched colonies and aviaries. The aim of the present study was to conduct a longitudinal survey of airborne total bacteria and of airborne total archaea in twelve enriched colonies and twelve aviaries in Eastern Canada during a whole laying period. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was used to reveal and compare bacterial diversity at the start and the end of the production cycle, and during the cold and the warm seasons. Total bacterial and archaeal concentrations were significantly higher in aviaries (p < 0.05) versus enriched colonies, and in the cold season for both housing types (p < 0.05). While flock age did not have a significant effect on total bacterial and archaeal concentrations, it did on bacterial diversity in both enriched colony houses and aviaries (p < 0.05). The 2 housing systems were significantly different in their diversity of bacteria.
Related
- An Exploratory Comparison of Indoor Air Quality and Culturable Airborne Microbial Concentrations Among Hospital Waiting Areas With Different Ventilation Conditions in Northern Thailand
- Trends in diversity of scientific authorship by ethnicity, sex and age of authors in a National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre in England: a retrospective longitudinal bibliometric study.
- Toward personalized and longitudinal antibiograms--a proof-of-concept for in vivo assessments of immunological-antibiotic-bacterial interactions
- Geospatial Associations of Hidradenitis Suppurativa With Structurally Related Airborne Toxins
- From viral infection to emission: host barriers shaping airborne transmission
BibTeX
@article{stgermain2026longitudinal,
title = {{Longitudinal survey of total airborne bacterial and archaeal concentrations and bacterial diversity in enriched colony housing and aviaries for laying hens}},
author = {Magali-Wen St-Germain and Valérie Létourneau and Perrine Cruaud and Candice Lemaille and Kim Robitaille and Éloïse Denis and Martine Boulianne and Caroline Duchaine},
journal = {Poultry Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.psj.2024.104119},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05781616v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Longitudinal survey of total airborne bacterial and archaeal concentrations and bacterial diversity in enriched colony housing and aviaries for laying hens
AU - Magali-Wen St-Germain
AU - Valérie Létourneau
AU - Perrine Cruaud
AU - Candice Lemaille
AU - Kim Robitaille
AU - Éloïse Denis
AU - Martine Boulianne
AU - Caroline Duchaine
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Poultry Science
DO - 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104119
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05781616v1
AB - Conventional cages for laying hens will be banned in Canada as of 2036, and the egg industry is transitioning toward enriched colony housing and aviaries. While higher concentrations of particulate matter have been previously reported in aviaries and other cage-free housing systems, concentrations of total bacteria and archaea suspended in the air are still uncharacterized in Canadian enriched colonies and aviaries. The aim of the present study was to conduct a longitudinal survey of airborne total bacteria and of airborne total archaea in twelve enriched colonies and twelve aviaries in Eastern Canada during a whole laying period. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was used to reveal and compare bacterial diversity at the start and the end of the production cycle, and during the cold and the warm seasons. Total bacterial and archaeal concentrations were significantly higher in aviaries (p < 0.05) versus enriched colonies, and in the cold season for both housing types (p < 0.05). While flock age did not have a significant effect on total bacterial and archaeal concentrations, it did on bacterial diversity in both enriched colony houses and aviaries (p < 0.05). The 2 housing systems were significantly different in their diversity of bacteria.
SN - 0032-5791
SN - 0032-5791
ER -