Intestinal microbiota profiles associated with low and high residual feed intake in chickens across two geographical locations

Abstract

Intestinal microbe-host interactions can affect the feed efficiency (FE) of chickens. As inconsistent findings for FE-associated bacterial taxa were reported across studies, the present objective was to identify whether bacterial profiles and predicted metabolic functions that were associated with residual feed intake (RFI) and performance traits in female and male chickens were consistent across two different geographical locations. At six weeks of life, the microbiota in ileal, cecal and fecal samples of low (n = 34) and high (n = 35) RFI chickens were investigated by sequencing the V3-5 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Location-associated differences in α-diversity and relative abundances of several phyla and genera were detected. RFI-associated bacterial abundances were found at the phylum and genus level, but differed among the three intestinal sites and between males and females. Correlation analysis confirmed that, of the taxonomically classifiable bacteria, Lactobacillus (5% relative abundance) and two Lactobacillus crispatus-OTUs in feces were indicative for high RFI in females (P < 0.05). In males, Ruminococcus in cecal digesta (3.1% relative abundance) and Dorea in feces (<0.1% relative abundance) were best indicative for low RFI, whereas Acinetobacter in feces (<1.5% relative abundance) related to high RFI (P < 0.05). Predicted metabolic functions in feces of males confirmed compositional relationships as functions related to amino acid, fatty acid and vitamin metabolism correlated with low RFI, whereas an increasing abundance of bacterial signaling and interaction (i.e. cellular antigens) genes correlated with high RFI (P < 0.05). In conclusion, RFI-associated bacterial profiles could be identified across different geographical locations. Results indicated that consortia of low-abundance taxa in the ileum, ceca and feces may play a role for FE in chickens, whereby only bacterial FE-associations found in ileal and cecal digesta may serve as useful targets for dietary strategies.

Expression of genes related to lipid transport in meat-type ducks divergent for low or high residual feed intake

“…In the present study, the HRFI ducks consumed more feed than did the LRFI ducks, while there was no significant difference between them in terms of ADG. This result was consistent with the findings of a previous study on chickens [18], and it may reflect that LRFI (efficient) animals consume less feed without experiencing significant changes in growth performance when compared with HRFI (inefficient) animals.…”

Farm Stage, Bird Age, and Body Site Dominantly Affect the Quantity, Taxonomic Composition, and Dynamics of Respiratory and Gut Microbiota of Commercial Layer Chickens

“…However, under experimental conditions, live vaccines have been associated with significant changes in microbiota compositions (61,62). Such changes may have long-term effects on immunity to unrelated pathogens and production performance (6,63). Understanding how live vaccines affect microbiota, egg production, and susceptibility to nontarget pathogens will be an important step toward improving management practices and maximizing productivity.…”

Galacto-Oligosaccharides Modulate the Juvenile Gut Microbiome and Innate Immunity To Improve Broiler Chicken Performance

“…Studies of broiler chickens aimed to establish productive intestinal microbiota have highlighted compositional shifts in the microbiota that discriminate between birds with opposing zootechnical parameters, but these can vary between experimental trials (15). Several families of bacteria have been reported from the intestinal communities of chickens to show positive or negative associations with feed efficiency: Bacteroides, Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridium, Ruminococcus, Faecalibacterium, and Lactobacillus (15,(37)(38)(39).…”