| Summary: | Modern broiler chickens have ongoing bone health problems. Phosphorus (P) plays an important role in bone development and increased understanding of P metabolism should improve the skeletal health of broilers. <i>Enterococcus faecium</i> has been widely used as a probiotic in broiler production and is shown to improve skeletal health of rats, but its effect on the bones of broilers remains unclear. This study investigated the effect of <i>E. faecium</i> on P absorption and utilization in broilers and the associated changes in the gut microbiota using 16S rDNA sequencing. Dietary supplementation with <i>E. faecium</i> improved P absorption through upregulation of the expression of intestinal <i>NaP-IIb</i> mRNA and increased the concentration of serum alkaline phosphatase. These actions increased P retention and bone mineralization in <i>E. faecium</i>-treated broilers. The positive effects of <i>E. faecium</i> on P metabolism were associated with changes in the populations of the intestinal microbiota. There was increased relative abundance of the following genera, <i>Alistipes</i>, <i>Eubacterium</i>, <i>Rikenella</i> and <i>Ruminococcaceae</i> and a decrease in the relative abundance of <i>Faecalibacterium</i> and <i>Escherichia-Shigella</i>. Dietary supplementation with <i>E. faecium</i> changed gut microbiota populations of broilers, increased the relative abundance of SCFA (short-chain fatty acid)-producing bacteria, improved intestinal P absorption and bone forming metabolic activities, and decreased P excretion. <i>E. faecium</i> facilitates increased utilisation of P in broilers.
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