Abstract
BackgroundDespite low genetic variation of broilers and deployment of considerate management practices, there still exists considerable body weight (BW) heterogeneity within broiler flocks which adversely affects the commercial value. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the cecal microbiome in weight differences between animals. Understanding how the gut microbiome may contribute to flock heterogeneity helps to pave the road for identifying methods to improve flock uniformity and performance.ResultsTwo hundred eighteen male broiler chicks were housed in the same pen, reared for 37 days, and at study end the 25 birds with highest BW (Big) and the 25 birds with lowest BW (Small) were selected for microbiome analysis. Cecal contents were analyzed by a hybrid metagenomic sequencing approach combining long and short read sequencing. We found that Big birds displayed higher microbial alpha diversity, higher microbiome uniformity (i.e. lower beta diversity within the group of Big birds), higher levels of SCFA-producing and health-associated bacterial taxa such as Lachnospiraceae, Faecalibacterium, Butyricicoccus and Christensenellales, and lower levels of Akkermansia muciniphila and Escherichia coli as compared to Small birds.ConclusionCecal microbiome characteristics could be linked to the size of broiler chickens. Differences in alpha diversity, beta diversity and taxa abundances all seem to be directly associated with growth differences observed in an otherwise similar broiler flock.
Highlights
Despite low genetic variation of broilers and deployment of considerate management practices, there still exists considerable body weight (BW) heterogeneity within broiler flocks which adversely affects the commercial value
Lee et al investigated the cecal microbiota of 12 male and 12 female broiler chickens by 16S rRNA sequencing and found the genera Faecalibacterium and Shuttleworthia to be enriched in male chickens with the highest BW after 35 days of rearing [11]
Body weight on day 37 spanned from 1514 g to 3134 g At placement in the barn, bird mean BW was 45.5 g
Summary
Despite low genetic variation of broilers and deployment of considerate management practices, there still exists considerable body weight (BW) heterogeneity within broiler flocks which adversely affects the commercial value. Broiler production is based upon a multiple-generation procedure of purebred genetic lines and their crosses. Broiler purebred lines have low heterozygosity and are very closely related to each other [1]. Many studies have investigated the link between chicken productivity and the gut microbiota as was recently reviewed by Carrasco et al [8]. The Lachnospiraceae has for instance, consistently been associated with high chicken productivity [8], possibly due to the anti-inflammatory potential of this short chain fatty acid (SCFA) producing family [9]. Do the genus Escherichia and the family Enterobacteriaceae correlate frequently with low productivity due to a high pathogenic potential within these taxa [8]. Han et al found that Streptococcus and Akkermansia correlated negatively with BW in cecum, whereas Bifidobacterium and Lactococcus in ileum and cecum respectively showed a positive correlation [12]
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