ITS-based metabarcoding of broiler and layer chicken litter: Linking fungal diversity to environmental and One Health risks.

Dual-marker ITS sequencing reveals distinct and diverse fungal communities, including pathogenic genera, in poultry farms, emphasizing environmental reservoirs of human health risks.

• Why it matters: Understanding fungal diversity in poultry environments is critical because these settings can harbor pathogens that threaten animal, environmental, and human health, yet comprehensive profiling methods are lacking.
• What they did: High-throughput sequencing of ITS1 and ITS2 regions was performed on samples from three poultry houses, using 16S rRNA gene markers to compare fungal richness, community structure, and pathogenic potential.
• The result: The study found that ITS1 detects higher fungal richness than ITS2, and identified clinically relevant genera like Aspergillus, highlighting the importance of multi-marker approaches for accurate risk assessment and biosecurity planning.