Biada Iliyass, Santacreu Maria A, Blasco Agustín, Pena Ramona N, Ibáñez-Escriche Noelia
Institute for Animal Science and Technology, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022, València, Spain.
Department of Animal Science, Universitat de Lleida, Av. Rovira Roure, 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 22;15(1):17874. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-01729-1.
In rabbit breeding, selection for production efficiency traits has been successful but has reduced rabbit functional longevity. The gut microbiota, which influences host health, is linked to longevity and undergoes significant changes with age. While previous studies have focused on young rabbits, research on gut microbiota changes in adult rabbits is limited. Understanding how gut microbiota evolves with age and its impact on longevity of does during reproductive life could offer insights into improving productivity, health and welfare. This study aims to investigate the evolution of gut microbiota through age and to compare different functional longevity groups between and within two maternal rabbit lines with different longevities; a standard commercial line (A) and another founded using longevity criteria (LP). Our analysis demonstrated a significant impact of age on the gut microbiome of does during their reproductive lifespan, with a decline in alpha diversity and change in beta diversity composition as age progressed. Differential abundance analysis revealed that 20% and 16% of taxa in lines A and LP, respectively, were influenced by age, predominantly showing a negative correlation. In terms of functional longevity, differences in abundance between groups were more pronounced within line A, with up to 16% of taxa differing between high-longevity HL (females with more than 10 parities) and low-longevity LL (females died/culled before 5th parity) groups, compared to only 4% within line LP, highlighting the role of genetic background in shaping microbiota composition and its potential influence on longevity. Finally, differences in microbiome between the two lines A and LP were consistent and maintained through their lifespan independently from their longevity. This study reveals that age significantly influences gut microbiome diversity and composition in adult female rabbits, leading to decreased alpha diversity and notable shifts in composition. Microbiome also differs according to functional longevity, with differences varying by genetic line. This suggests that using microbiome through selection or using specific taxa within it as biomarkers could be a promising avenue for improving longevity. Moreover, microbiome differences between genetic lines persist throughout life, even among animals with the same longevity.
在兔子养殖中，对生产效率性状的选择已取得成功，但却降低了兔子的功能寿命。肠道微生物群会影响宿主健康，与寿命相关，且会随着年龄的增长发生显著变化。虽然之前的研究主要集中在幼兔身上，但关于成年兔肠道微生物群变化的研究却很有限。了解肠道微生物群如何随年龄演变及其对成年母兔繁殖期寿命的影响，可能会为提高生产力、健康水平和福利提供见解。本研究旨在调查肠道微生物群随年龄的演变情况，并比较两个具有不同寿命的母兔品系内部和之间不同功能寿命组的情况；一个是标准商业品系（A），另一个是根据寿命标准建立的品系（LP）。我们的分析表明，年龄对成年母兔繁殖期的肠道微生物组有显著影响，随着年龄的增长，α多样性下降，β多样性组成发生变化。差异丰度分析显示，品系A和LP中分别有20%和16%的分类群受年龄影响，主要呈负相关。在功能寿命方面，品系A组间丰度差异更为明显，高寿命HL（产仔超过10窝的母兔）和低寿命LL（在第5窝产仔前死亡/淘汰的母兔）组之间高达16%的分类群存在差异，而品系LP中只有4%，这突出了遗传背景在塑造微生物群组成及其对寿命潜在影响方面的作用。最后，品系A和LP之间的微生物组差异在其整个生命周期中是一致的，且与它们的寿命无关。这项研究表明，年龄显著影响成年雌性兔子的肠道微生物群多样性和组成，导致α多样性降低和组成发生显著变化。微生物组也因功能寿命而异，差异因遗传品系而异。这表明通过选择利用微生物组或使用其中特定的分类群作为生物标志物可能是提高寿命的一个有前景的途径。此外，遗传品系之间的微生物组差异在整个生命过程中持续存在，即使在寿命相同的动物中也是如此。
