High-temperature exposure alters the community structure and functional features of the intestinal microbiota in Shaoxing ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

Abstract

The gut microbiome is a complex ecosystem that contributes to host nutrition and health. However, our current knowledge of the relationship between ambient temperature and gut microbiota of poultry is still limited. The objective of the present study was to characterize the intestinal microbiota of ducks exposed to high ambient temperature. Sixty 60-day-old Shaoxing ducks were allocated to control and heat-treated groups. The ducks in the control group were kept at 25°C, and the ducks in the heat treatment group were raised at 30–40°C, which simulated the temperature change of day and night in summer. After 15 D, the intestinal contents of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were obtained from 6 ducks of each group. Genomic DNA was extracted and amplified based on the V4–V5 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA. The results showed that Firmicutes was the dominant bacterial phylum with the highest abundance in the contents of the small intestine of ducks, and the relative abundance of the phylum Firmicutes in all 3 intestinal segments was increased by high temperature. At the genus level, Lactobacillus was found to be the most dominant bacterial genus across 3 gut segments, and its abundance was increased in ducks under heat treatment. Compared with the corresponding intestine segment of control ducks, a total of 36 genera in the duodenum, 19 genera in the jejunum, and 6 genera in the ileum of heat-treated ducks were found to be significantly different in the abundance (linear discriminant analysis score >3.0, P < 0.05). Functional prediction of gut microbiota revealed that high temperature caused changes in the abundance of metabolism and transcription-related pathways. It is noteworthy that most of the altered pathways are related to metabolism. In conclusion, high temperature induced remarkable taxonomic changes in the gut microbiome of ducks, which might be related to the negative effects of high temperature in ducks. Our present study provided an important theoretical ground for high-temperature intervention.

Understanding the effects of intramuscular injection and feed withdrawal on Salmonella Typhimurium shedding and gut microbiota in pullets

“…A study in layers showed that exposure to high temperature significantly reduced abundance of phylum Firmicutes [ 48 ]. However, these results are contradicted by studies in broilers and in Shaoxing ducks in which exposure to high temperature showed increased abundance of the phylum Firmicutes [ 49 , 50 ]. A study in humans suggest that the effect of stressors on gut microbiota vary across stressors [ 51 ].…”

Potential Use of Gut Microbiota Composition as a Biomarker of Heat Stress in Monogastric Species: A Review

“…For KEGG functional pathway, most microbial genes were mapped to functions related to the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, nucleotide, and energy in the same study [ 18 ]. Tian et al identified transcription, amino acid metabolism, and carbohydrate transport and metabolism as the top three predicted functions of the gut microbial community in ducks under thermoneutral conditions [ 90 ]. Several studies revealed the changes in metabolic functions of gut microbiota of birds under heat stress.…”

“…Zhu et al indicated that high temperatures increased the enrichment of benzoate degradation and cysteine and methionine metabolism pathways but decreased the retinol metabolism and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways in laying hens [ 18 ]. While in ducks, heat stress was found to enrich starch and sucrose metabolism, transcription machinery, energy metabolism, and methane metabolism pathways but lower ABC transporters and several signaling pathways [ 90 ]. Functional changes in the gut microbiota induced by high temperatures provide more information to understand the metabolic role of the gut microbiome in host health.…”

Integrative Analysis of Vaginal Microorganisms and Serum Metabolomics in Rats With Estrous Cycle Disorder Induced by Long-Term Heat Exposure Based on 16S rDNA Gene Sequencing and LC/MS-Based Metabolomics

“…Recently, it has been reported that HE affected microbiota diversity in some animals. For example, it caused the increase of Proteobacteria and the decrease of Bacteroides in pig feces ( Xiong et al, 2020 ) and induced significant changes in the variety of duodenum, jejunum, ileum flora in Shaoxing duck ( Tian et al, 2020 ) and cow fecal microbiota ( Chen et al, 2018 ). Neonatal microbial colonization was affected via affecting maternal microbial transmission in late gestational HE in a pig model ( He et al, 2020 ).…”