Abstract
Increasing evidence has indicated that the gut microbiome plays an important role in chicken growth traits. However, the cecal microbial taxa associated with the growth rates of the Chinese Ningdu yellow chickens are unknown. In this study, shotgun metagenomic sequencing was used to identify cecal bacterial species associated with the growth rate of the Chinese Ningdu yellow chickens. We found that nine cecal bacterial species differed significantly between high and low growth rate chickens, including three species (Succinatimonas hippei, Phocaeicola massiliensis, and Parabacteroides sp. ZJ-118) that were significantly enriched in high growth rate chickens. We identified six Bacteroidales that were significantly enriched in low growth rate chickens, including Barnesiella sp. An22, Barnesiella sp. ET7, and Bacteroidales bacterium which were key biomarkers in differentiating high and low growth rate chickens and were associated with alterations in the functional taxa of the cecal microbiome. Untargeted serum metabolome analysis revealed that 8 metabolites showing distinct enrichment patterns between high and low growth rate chickens, including triacetate lactone and N-acetyl-a-neuraminic acid, which were at higher concentrations in low growth rate chickens and were positively and significantly correlated with Barnesiella sp. An22, Barnesiella sp. ET7, and Bacteroidales bacterium. Furthermore, the results suggest that serum cytokines, such as IL-5, may reduce growth rate and are related to changes in serum metabolites and gut microbes (e.g., Barnesiella sp. An22 and Barnesiella sp. ET7). These results provide important insights into the effects of the cecal microbiome, serum metabolism and cytokines in Ningdu yellow chickens.