This collection summarises current research on the composition and function of the gastrointestinal tract in poultry, the factors that affect its function, and nutritional strategies to optimise poultry nutrition, health and environmental impact.

Chapters summarise advances in sequencing and omics technologies to understand gut function, current understanding of the gut microbiota, the development of the gut microbiome over the life of the bird, and gut function in nutrient processing and immune response. The book the reviews what we know about factors affecting gut function and health, including gastrointestinal diseases, the interaction between pathogens and the gut as well the impact of antibiotics. The final group of chapters discuss current research on the effectiveness of feed additives in optimising gut health, including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, antimicrobials, essential oils and other botanicals as well as cereal grains.