Abstract
Butyrate can modulate the immune response and energy expenditure of animals and enhance intestinal health. The present study investigated changes in the intestinal microbiota composition and serum metabolites of young broilers in response to 3,000 ppm butyrate in the form of butyrate glycerides (BG) via pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The dietary treatment did not affect the alpha diversity of intestinal microbiota, but altered its composition. Thirty-nine key operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in differentiating cecal microbiota community structures between BG treated and untreated chickens were also identified. Bifidobacterium was, in particular, affected by the dietary treatment significantly, showing an increase in not only the abundance (approximately 3 fold, P ≤ 0.05) but also the species diversity. The (NMR)-based analysis revealed an increase in serum concentrations of alanine, low-density and very low-density lipoproteins, and lipids (P ≤ 0.05) by BG. More interestingly, the dietary treatment also boosted (P ≤ 0.05) serum concentrations of bacterial metabolites, including choline, glycerophosphorylcholine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, trimethylamine-N-oxide, lactate, and succinate. In conclusion, the data suggest the modulation of intestinal microbiota and serum metabolites by BG dietary treatment and potential contribution of intestinal bacteria to lipid metabolism/energy homeostasis in broilers.
Highlights
Butyrate, a product of bacterial fermentation of dietary carbohydrates in the digestive tract, plays a vital role in maintaining intestinal health and homeostasis as well as ameliorating the metabolic and immune status in animals
Resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics analysis[13,14] is a tool that can be used to assess the functionalities of nutrients via the simultaneous measurement of multiple metabolites in complex organisms, and to explore how metabolic balances are disturbed by dietary nutrient interventions[15]
Twelve samples per segment were used for pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes
Summary
A product of bacterial fermentation of dietary carbohydrates in the digestive tract, plays a vital role in maintaining intestinal health and homeostasis as well as ameliorating the metabolic and immune status in animals. It is a preferred energy-providing substrate over glucose and glutamine for colonic epithelial cells and may count for approximately 70% of the total energy consumption of the colonocyte[1,2]. The objective of the present study was, to determine the changes in the intestinal microbiota and serum metabolites as well as their potential links in response to dietary treatment of butyrate (in the form of butyrate glycerides, BG) using a combined approach of NMR-based metabolomics analysis and metagenomics techniques including pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes, quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays, and NMR-based metabolomics analysis
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