Comparison of Gut Microbial Diversity in Beijing Oil and Arbor Acres Chickens

Zm Chen,Hy Cai,Wh Chang,Gh Liu,Aj Zheng,S Zhang

doi:10.1590/1806-9061-2017-0549

Abstract

The Beijing oil (BJO) chicken is an autochthona Chinese breed which shows outstanding meat quality characteristics compared with fast-growing imported chickens such as Arbor Acres (AA) chickens. Gut microbial diversity has been shown to influence host factors such as energy and nutrient metabolism, immune response and fertility. Consequently, it is hoped that analyses into host microbial populations will ultimately help to improve the quality of associated meat products. Two distinct chicken breeds, Arbor Acres (AA) and Beijing oil (BJO), were selected to analyze the composition of the 16S rRNA gene V3-V5 hypervariable regions using high-throughput sequencing technology. Upon elucidation of gut-colonizing bacteria, the Firmicutes were observed to encompass the dominant phylum. The abundance of Firmicutes in the BJO chickens (84.9%) was lower than in the AA chickens (89.9%). Conversely, the prevalence of Proteobacteria was 4.8% in BJO chickens, with a significantly lower abundance observed in AA chickens (1.3%). In the cecum, the Firmicutes were once more the dominant phylum in BJO chickens (60.2%) and AA chickens (63.7%). The abundance of bacteroidetes was 37.7% in BJO chickens and 34.9% in AA chickens, respectively. These discoveries provide a perception into the composition of the gut microbiotain both breeds. The study also provides a foundation for future research relating to gut bacterial factors that may influence the development and progression of gastrointestinal disease in chickens and other animals.

Highlights

The Beijing oil (BJO) chicken is a native Chinese breed and is regarded to show perfect meat quality compared with fast-growing imported chickens (Li et al, 2009; Lu et al, 2007; Zhang et al, 2007)
Total DNA was extracted from ileum and cecum samples of 72 chickens which were composed of 36 Arbor Acres (AA) and 36 BJO chickens, V3–V5 regions of 16S rRNA gene were PCR amplified from each of those 72 DNA samples
A total of 877,392 and 677,268 validated sequences reads of V3–V5 16S rRNA sequences reads from the 72 ileum and cecum samples respectively with an average of 24372 and 18813 sequences reads for each sample were obtained in AA chickens

Summary

Introduction

The Beijing oil (BJO) chicken is a native Chinese breed and is regarded to show perfect meat quality compared with fast-growing imported chickens (Li et al, 2009; Lu et al, 2007; Zhang et al, 2007). Previous studies have focused on the meat quality of the BJO chicken (Cherian et al, 2002; DeVol et al, 1988; Jiang et al, 2011; Matteo et al, 2007). There has been a dearth of comparative metagenomic analyses pertaining to the role of gut microorganisms and microbial diversity in BJO and AA chickens. Previous research has shown that the host genotype is an important factor in dictating the composition of the gut microbiota

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