Effects of Total Dietary Fiber on Cecal Microbial Community and Intestinal Morphology of Growing White Pekin Duck

Abstract

The current study was to investigate the effects of total dietary fiber (TDF) on growth performance, cecal structure, cecal microbial community, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) profiles in the cecum of growing White Pekin ducks. A total of 108 male Pekin ducks of 14-days-old were randomly allocated and fed diets containing 12.4, 14.7, and 16.2% TDF for 35 days. Each dietary treatment consisted of six replicates with six birds each. The results showed that 14.7 and 16.2% TDF treatments promoted growth performance relative to 12.4% TDF treatments (P < 0.05). A total of 14.7 and 16.2% TDF treatments significantly elevated villus height, the ratio of villus height to crypt depth and muscle layer thickness of cecum, and lowered crypt depth compared with 12.4% TDF treatment (P < 0.05). Simultaneously, 14.7 and 16.2% TDF treatments up-regulated Claudin-1 mRNA expression of barrier genes in the cecum compared with 12.4% TDF (P < 0.05). Butyrate-producing bacteria like Oscillopiraceae affiliating to the phyla Firmicutes were observed as a biomarker in the 16.2% TDF. Higher concentration of butyrate in the cecum was obtained in the 14.7% TDF compared with 12.4 and 16.2% TDF (P < 0.05). The concentrations of isobutyrate, valerate, and isovalerate in the cecum were significantly increased in the 16.2% TDF compared with 12.4 and 14.7% TDF (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the abundance of genus UCG-005 and Enterococcus was positive correlations with isobutyrate and valerate (P < 0.05). However, the concentration of propionate in the cecum significantly decreased in 14.7 and 16.2% TDF treatments relative to 12.4% TDF treatments (P < 0.05). In summary, increasing TDF levels improved growth performance, cecal histomorphology, and barrier function of meat ducks and it might be mediated by the changes of microbiota communities, especially bloom of SCFAs-producing bacteria, which facilitated the interaction between intestinal mucosa and microbiota.

Increase Dietary Fiber Intake Ameliorates Cecal Morphology and Drives Cecal Species-Specific of Short-Chain Fatty Acids in White Pekin Ducks

“…Furthermore, Bacteroidota and Bacillota were the predominant phyla in the cecum of ducks, regardless of the changed levels of TDF in the diet, consistent with published findings on the microbial composition of ducks ( Vasai et al, 2014 ). The increased ratio of Bacillota to Bacteroidota was also observed in the higher TDF diet, which is in line with the study of Hao et al (2021) that high TDF diets elevated the ratio of Bacillota to Bacteroidota in the cecum of ducks. The higher Bacillota to Bacteroidota ratio in the gut microbial community of animals was considered to improve nutrient digestibility and gain body weight, and the reverse was associated with weight loss ( Ley et al, 2006 ; Mariat et al, 2009 ; Singh et al, 2013 ; Dai et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The gastrointestinal tract is of vital importance for nutrient digestion and absorption, mucus secretion, and prevention of the body from pathogenic microbiota, in which barrier function and fermentability are indispensable for such vital roles ( Okumura and Takeda, 2018 ; Zhang et al, 2020 ). Previous studies indicated that a high dietary fiber level could not only elevate the weight of the cecum but increase the VH, V/C, and mucosal thickness in ducks ( Qin et al, 2020 ; Hao et al, 2021 ). In the current research, the amelioration in VH, V/C, and MLT of the cecum was also witnessed when ducks were fed high TDF diets.…”

“…The concentrations of SCFAs in cecal content were measured by using a gas chromatography system (VARIAN CP-3800, Varian, Palo Alto, CA, United States; Capillary Column 30-m- ×−250-μm- × −0.25-μm film thickness) following the previous method ( Hao et al, 2021 ). For samples, 0.5-g cecal content (stored at –80°C) was weighted approximately.…”

“…Optimal gut health is of vital importance to the performance of production animals and is synonymous in animal production industries with animal health ( Kogut, 2019 ). Previously, through feeding white Pekin ducks with diets containing 12.4, 14.7, and 16.2% total dietary fiber (TDF), respectively, we found that increasing TDF levels significantly promoted growth performance in ducks with the bloom of SCFAs-producing bacteria and enhanced cecal morphology ( Hao et al, 2021 ). With the enriched relative abundance of SCFAs-producing bacteria, SCFAs as metabolites of the bacteria can be passively absorbed by epithelial cells through the Na + -coupled monocarboxylate transporter SLC5A8 and the H + -coupled low-affinity monocarboxylate transporter SLC16A1 to supply energy for intestinal epithelial proliferation ( den Besten et al, 2013 ; Koh et al, 2016 ).…”

Using combined Lactobacillus and quorum quenching enzyme supplementation as an antibiotic alternative to improve broiler growth performance, antioxidative status, immune response, and gut microbiota

“…The mixture was then centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 10 min at 4°C. The supernatant was used for VFA (acetate, propionate, isobutyrate, butyrate, isovalerate, and valerate) composition analysis using a gas chromatography method according to Hao et al (2021) .…”