Abstract
Gut microbial ecology is responsible for fatty acid metabolism in ruminants. The cecal microbiota composition of geese and their adaptation to fiber inclusion and feeding timeswere investigated in this study. A total of 116 Wanxi white geese were randomly selected at 70 days old. Eight geese were subjected to cecal sampling at 70 d of age, and the remaining 108 geese were divided into four groups with three replicates each (9 geese in each replicate). The geese in the four groups were fed 0, 15, 30, and 45% green forage (relative to dry matter), respectively. Three birds from each replicate were selected for cecal sampling at 80, 90, and 100 days old. All samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing using the Illumina Ion Personal Genome Machine platform. Bacterial abundance was analyzed using two-way ANOVA analysis, and the relationship between the relative abundance of bacteria (phylum level) and fatty acids was analyzed using acanonical correspondence analysis. Cecal microbiota in geese were mainly composed of Bacteroidetes (68.46%), Firmicutes (20.04%), and Proteobacteria (7.89%). Dietary treatments had no significant effect on the α-diversity indices of the cecal bacterial community (P > 0.05), but a numerical increase occurred with increased fattening duration and green forage inclusion. The Selenomonadales order (P = 0.024), Negativicutes class (P = 0.026), and Megamonas (P = 0.012) and Oscillospira (P = 0.042) genera were affected by green forageinclusion level, and microflora abundance was mainly influenced by the fattening duration. Bacteria phyla were mostly set along the line of linolenic acid and oleic acid. Finally, Bacteroidales might be an intestinal promoter that improves unsaturated fatty acid synthesis in geese.