Joint contributions of the gut microbiota and host genetics to feed efficiency in chickens

Microbiome

Chunning Mai¹  Congjiao Sun¹  Chaoliang Wen¹  Ning Yang¹  Jiangxia Zheng¹  Wei Yan¹  Zhongyi Duan² 

[1]National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China

[2]National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China

[3]National Animal Husbandry Service, 100125, Beijing, China

关键词: Chicken;    Feed efficiency;    Genetic variations;    Gut microbiota;    Spatial heterogeneity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40168-021-01040-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundFeed contributes most to livestock production costs. Improving feed efficiency is crucial to increase profitability and sustainability for animal production. Host genetics and the gut microbiota can both influence the host phenotype. However, the association between the gut microbiota and host genetics and their joint contribution to feed efficiency in chickens is largely unclear.ResultsHere, we examined microbial data from the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and feces in 206 chickens and their host genotypes and confirmed that the microbial phenotypes and co-occurrence networks exhibited dramatic spatial heterogeneity along the digestive tract. The correlations between host genetic kinship and gut microbial similarities within different sampling sites were weak, with coefficients ranging from − 0.07 to 0.08. However, microbial genome-wide analysis revealed that genetic markers near or inside the genes MTHFD1L and LARGE1 were associated with the abundances of cecal Megasphaera and Parabacteroides, respectively. The effect of host genetics on residual feed intake (RFI) was 39%. We further identified three independent genetic variations that were related to feed efficiency and had a modest effect on the gut microbiota. The contributions of the gut microbiota from the different parts of the intestinal tract on RFI were distinct. The cecal microbiota accounted for 28% of the RFI variance, a value higher than that explained by the duodenal, jejunal, ileal, and fecal microbiota. Additionally, six bacteria exhibited significant associations with RFI. Specifically, lower abundances of duodenal Akkermansia muciniphila and cecal Parabacteroides and higher abundances of cecal Lactobacillus, Corynebacterium, Coprobacillus, and Slackia were related to better feed efficiency.ConclusionsOur findings solidified the notion that both host genetics and the gut microbiota, especially the cecal microbiota, can drive the variation in feed efficiency. Although host genetics has a limited effect on the entire microbial community, a small fraction of gut microorganisms tends to interact with host genes, jointly contributing to feed efficiency. Therefore, the gut microbiota and host genetic variations can be simultaneously targeted by favoring more-efficient taxa and selective breeding to improve feed efficiency in chickens.EooUS9Np68nMFAp4xE4K1kVideo abstract

【 授权许可】

CC BY