Dr Steven C. Ricke is Professor and Director of the Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery Program (MSABD) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. He was formerly the Donald ‘Buddy’ Wray Chair in Food Safety and Director of the Center for Food Safety in the Department of Food Science at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. The recipient of numerous awards for his research on poultry meat safety, Professor Ricke is editor of two previous books for Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing: Achieving sustainable production of poultry meat Volume 1: Safety, quality and sustainability (2017) and Improving gut health in poultry (2019).Dr Guillermo Tellez Isaias worked at the National Autonomous University of Mexico for 16 years and was previously Head of the Avian Medicine Department at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Currently, Dr Tellez is a Research Professor at the Center of Excellence in Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, USA where his research is focused on the advantages of the poultry gastrointestinal model to evaluate the beneficial effects of functional foods to enhance intestinal health and disease resistance.

• Part 1 Understanding the gastrointestinal tract1.Commercial poultry production and gut function: a historical perspective: Dana Dittoe and Steven C. Ricke, University of Arkansas, USA; and Aaron Kiess, Mississippi State University, USA; 2.Advances in sequence technologies for generating poultry gut microbiome data: Xiaofan Wang and Jiangchao Zhao, University of Arkansas, USA; 3.Omics technologies for connecting host responses with poultry gut function: Jana Seifert and Bruno Tilocca, University of Hohenheim, Germany; 4.Understanding gut microbiota in poultry: Robert Moore, RMIT University, Australia; 5.In ovo development of the chicken gut microbiome and its impact on later gut function: E. David Peebles, Mississippi State University, USA; 6.Understanding gut function in poultry: immunometabolism at the gut level: Ryan J. Arsenault, University of Delaware, USA; 7.Understanding gut function in poultry: the role of commensals, metabolites, inflammation, and dysbiosis in intestinal immune function and dysfunction: Michael H. Kogut, USDA-ARS, USA; Part 2 Factors that impact the gastrointestinal tract and different types of birds8.Genetics and other factors affecting intestinal microbiota and function in poultry: Michael D. Cressman, The Ohio State University, USA; Jannigje G. Kers, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; and Lingling Wang and Zhongtang Yu, The Ohio State University, USA; 9.Antibiotics and gut function: historical and current perspectives: Jeferson M. Lourenço, Darren S. Seidel and Todd R. Callaway, University of Georgia, USA; 10.Gastrointestinal diseases of poultry: causes and nutritional strategies for prevention and control: Raveendra R. Kulkarni, North Carolina State University, USA; Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, University of Guelph, Canada and Beni-Suef University, Egypt; and Bahram Shojadoost, Jake Astill and Shayan Sharif, University of Guelph, Canada; 11.The interaction between gut microbiota and pathogens in poultry: Ruediger Hauck, Auburn University, USA; and Lisa Bielke and Zhongtang Yu, The Ohio State University, USA; 12.Microbial ecology and function of the gastrointestinal tract in layer hens: Steven C. Ricke, University of Arkansas, USA; Part 3 Feed additives and gut health modulation13.Controlling pathogens in the poultry gut: Osman Yasir Koyun and Todd R. Callaway, University of Georgia, USA; 14.The role of probiotics in optimizing gut function in poultry: Guillermo Tellez and Juan D. Latorre University of Arkansas, USA; Margarita A. Arreguin-Nava, Eco-Bio LLC, USA; and Billy M. Hargis, University of Arkansas, USA; 15.Role of prebiotics in poultry gastrointestinal tract health, function, and microbiome composition: Steven C. Ricke, University of Arkansas, USA; 16.The role of synbiotics in optimizing gut function in poultry: Guillermo Tellez and Juan D. Latorre, University of Arkansas, USA; Margarita A. Arreguin-Nava, Eco-Bio LLC, USA; and Billy M. Hargis, University of Arkansas, USA; 17.Short chain organic acids: microbial ecology and antimicrobial activity in the poultry gastrointestinal tract: Steven C. Ricke, University of Arkansas, USA; 18.The role of essential oils and other botanicals in optimizing gut function in poultry: Divek V. T. Nair, Grace Dewi and Anup Kollanoor-Johny, University of Minnesota, USA; 19.The role of specific cereal grain dietary components in poultry gut function: Paul Iji, Figi National University, Figi Islands and University of New England, Australia; Apeh Omede, University of New England, Australia and Kogi State University, Nigeria; Medani Abdallah, University of New England, Australia and University of Khartoum, Sudan; and Emmanuel U. Ahiwe, University of New England, Australia and Federal University of Technology – Owerri, Nigeria;

"Improving gut health in poultry is as good for the novice as it is for the experienced nutritionist...this book is a must for every poultry nutritionist."Dr Ioannis Mavromichalis, Ariston Nutrition Consulting International