Metabolic and inflammatory linkage of the chicken cecal microbiome to growth performance

Liqi Wang; Fuping Zhang; Hui Li; Shenglin Yang; Xiang Chen; Shuihua Long; Shenghong Yang; Yongxian Yang; Zhong Wang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1060458

Metabolic and inflammatory linkage of the chicken cecal microbiome to growth performance

Front Microbiol. 2023 Feb 23:14:1060458. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1060458. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Liqi Wang^{1

2}, Fuping Zhang^{1

2}, Hui Li^{1

2}, Shenglin Yang^{1

2}, Xiang Chen^{1

2}, Shuihua Long³, Shenghong Yang^{1

2}, Yongxian Yang^{1

2}, Zhong Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction in the Plateau Mountainous Region, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
² College of Animal Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
³ School of Public Health, Xinyu University, Xinyu, Jiangxi, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Chinese indigenous chicken breeds are widely used as food in China but their slow growth rate and long farming cycle has limited their industrial production.

Methods: In the current study we examined whether the market weights of native chicken breeds were related to specific cecal bacteria, serum metabolites and inflammatory cytokines. We examined cecal bacterial taxa using 16S rDNA analysis along with untargeted serum metabolites and serum inflammatory cytokines.

Results: We found that the cecal microbiota could explain 10.1% of the individual differences in chicken weights and identified key cecal bacterial genera that influenced this phenotype. The presence of Sphaerochaeta spp. improved growth performance via bovinic acid metabolism. In contrast, Synergistes and norank_f_Desulfovibrionaceae had a negative effect on growth by inducing expression of the inflammatory cytokine IL-6.

Discussion: We were able to link specific bacterial genera with growth promotion in chickens and this study will allow further development of their use as probiotics in these animals.

Keywords: cecal microbiota; indigenous chickens; inflammatory cytokine; market-weight; serum metabolome.