Kim Hye Won, Kim Na Kyung, Wolf Patricia G, Brandvold Kristoffer, Rehberger Joshua M, Rehberger Tom G, Dilger Ryan N, Smith Alexandra H, Mackie Roderick I
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
College of Health and Human Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
J Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2025 Aug 2;16(1):108. doi: 10.1186/s40104-025-01243-4.
Body weight is an important indicator of the overall health and production efficiency in broiler chickens. In broiler houses, body weight of chicks is variable despite the same genetics, hatching and feeding practices within a production system. The objective of this study was to investigate the intestinal microbiota and bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity in slow and fast growing broiler chickens, which belonged to the 10 and 90 percentile body weight groups, respectively.
A total of 300 Ross 308 broiler chickens (100 per cohort from three independent cohorts) were selected and mucosal samples from the jejunum, ileum, and cecum were collected at day of arrival, 11 and 25 (n = 450). Then, bacterial counts, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, species specific real-time qPCR, as well as BSH activity were analyzed.
Results of bacterial counts showed no significant difference between slow and fast growing cohorts (P > 0.05), but they tended to be higher in the slow growing chickens in all measured bacterial groups in cecum. The 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed higher relative abundance of E. coli-Shigella (71.3%-79.8%) at day of arrival, while the most abundant microorganisms at d 25 was Candidatus Arthromitus (slow: 44.5%; fast: 27.4%) in small intestine. qPCR results indicated significant differences in bacterial populations between the slow and fast growing chickens, especially higher total bacteria, Enterococcus, and Clostridium cluster I in the slow growing chickens at d 25. BSH activity was higher in the slow growing chickens than the fast growing chickens [slow: 0.476 ΔOD/protein (μg/mL); fast: 0.258 ΔOD/protein (μg/mL); P < 0.0001], and correlation analysis highlighted associations between BSH activity, body weight, feed intake, body weight gain, and bacterial counts.
We postulate that high total bacteria and Enterococcus abundance are associated with high BSH activity, impacting low feed intake and body weight gain, ultimately resulting in separation into slow and fast growing birds. The findings of this study contribute to understanding the relationship between gut microbiota, BSH activity, and host physiology in broiler chickens, with potential implications for poultry production.
体重是肉鸡整体健康和生产效率的重要指标。在肉鸡舍中，尽管同一生产系统内的雏鸡具有相同的遗传背景、孵化和饲养方式，但雏鸡的体重仍存在差异。本研究的目的是调查生长缓慢和生长快速的肉鸡（分别属于体重百分位数第10和第90组）的肠道微生物群和胆汁盐水解酶（BSH）活性。
总共选取300只罗斯308肉鸡（来自三个独立批次，每个批次100只），在到达时、第11天和第25天采集空肠、回肠和盲肠的黏膜样本（n = 450）。然后，分析细菌计数、16S rRNA扩增子测序、物种特异性实时定量PCR以及BSH活性。
细菌计数结果显示，生长缓慢和生长快速的批次之间无显著差异（P > 0.05），但盲肠中所有检测细菌组的生长缓慢鸡的细菌计数往往更高。16S rRNA扩增子测序显示，到达时大肠杆菌-志贺氏菌的相对丰度较高（71.3%-79.8%），而在第25天，小肠中最丰富的微生物是候选分节丝状菌（生长缓慢组：44.5%；生长快速组：27.4%）。定量PCR结果表明，生长缓慢和生长快速的鸡之间细菌种群存在显著差异，尤其是在第25天，生长缓慢的鸡中总细菌、肠球菌和梭菌属第一簇的数量更高。生长缓慢的鸡的BSH活性高于生长快速的鸡[生长缓慢组：0.476 ΔOD/蛋白质（μg/mL）；生长快速组：0.258 ΔOD/蛋白质（μg/mL）；P < 0.0001]，相关性分析突出了BSH活性、体重、采食量、体重增加和细菌计数之间的关联。
我们推测，总细菌和肠球菌丰度高与BSH活性高有关，影响采食量低和体重增加，最终导致鸡分为生长缓慢和生长快速的两类。本研究结果有助于理解肉鸡肠道微生物群、BSH活性和宿主生理学之间的关系，对家禽生产具有潜在意义。
