Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the effects of N-Carbamylglutamate (NCG) supplementation on cecal morphology, microbiota composition, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) contents in broiler breeder roosters. A total of 72 11-week-old Zhuanghe Dagu broiler breeder roosters with a similar initial body weight (1.53 ± 0.06 kg) were randomly allocated into two groups. Each group had 3 replicates with 12 birds per replicate. The experimental period lasted 42 days. All birds underwent the same production practices, except for the dietary conditions. It was found that an increase in cecal muscularis thickness and villi epithelium thickness. The NCG supplementation was found to have regulatory effects on the composition of cecal microbiota. Additionally, the study observed an increase in the content of butyric acid in the cecum of broiler breeder roosters fed with the NCG-containing control diet compared to those fed with the basal diet. Spearman correlation analysis showed that the variation of cecal microbiota was closely related to the production of butyric acid as well as the improvement of muscularis and villi epithelium thickness in cecum. The increase of butyric acid content in cecum was positively correlated with the improvement of cecal muscularis and villi epithelium thickness. In conclusion, the findings of this study indicate that dietary supplementation of NCG in broiler breeder roosters can positively influence cecal morphology, microbiota composition, and butyric production.