Antibiotics shape microbiota and weight gain across the animal kingdom

The efficacy of antibiotic growth promoters depends on a variety of factors, including time of administration, dietary interactions, and length of growth cycle. There is consumer and regulatory pressure to remove antibiotic growth promoters from use, and understanding how modulating the microbiota alters host metabolism could give insights to new production strategies. The economic benefits of antibiotic growth promoters should be re-examined for modern agricultural practices.