Fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal Lactobacillus and glutamine

Chicken meat is an essential source of high-quality animal protein, mainly derived from slow-growth chicken (SC) and fast-growth chicken (FC) breeds. Skeletal muscle is a highly adaptable tissue that is influenced by breed differences and the gut microbiome. Investigation whether remodeling the gut...

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Main Authors: Yibin Xu, Kuan Chen, Yulin Huang, Yifeng Yan, Weiqin Zhang, Jinghong Tian, Dexiang Zhang, Manqing Liu, Qinghua Nie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Poultry Science
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125004857
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author Yibin Xu
Kuan Chen
Yulin Huang
Yifeng Yan
Weiqin Zhang
Jinghong Tian
Dexiang Zhang
Manqing Liu
Qinghua Nie
author_facet Yibin Xu
Kuan Chen
Yulin Huang
Yifeng Yan
Weiqin Zhang
Jinghong Tian
Dexiang Zhang
Manqing Liu
Qinghua Nie
author_sort Yibin Xu
collection DOAJ
description Chicken meat is an essential source of high-quality animal protein, mainly derived from slow-growth chicken (SC) and fast-growth chicken (FC) breeds. Skeletal muscle is a highly adaptable tissue that is influenced by breed differences and the gut microbiome. Investigation whether remodeling the gut microbiota by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) improves chicken growth is an interesting question. We compared the gut microbial composition of eight breeds of SC (Xinghua chicken, Yangshan chicken, Zhongshan Salan chicken, Qingyuan Partridge chicken, Huiyang Bearded chicken and Huaixiang chicken) and FC (Xiaobai chicken and White rock chicken). Fecal microbiota from donor FC (Xiaobai chickens) with superior growth performance were transferred to SC (Xinghua chickens). The effects of FMT on growth performance, metabolic profile and gut microbiome of recipient chickens were evaluated. We found significant differences in gut microbial composition, with a higher abundance of Bacteroidetes in SC and a higher abundance of Firmicutes in FC. Xiaobai chickens with better growth performance and abundant Lactobacillus, and FMT significantly enhanced growth performance, the expression of mRNA (MYOG, MYF5, MYF6 and IGF1) related to breast and leg muscle development and improved the villus/crypt ratio in the jejunum. FMT altered the microbiota in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, increased Lactobacillus abundance, decreased the relative mRNA expression of the intestinal inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α), increased glutamine levels in the host, including in muscle tissues and intestinal contents, and Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the relative abundance of Lactobacillus was positively correlated with glutamine levels. Additionally, antibiotic treatment reduces glutamine levels in the intestines, blood, and muscle tissues of chickens. Glutamine can increase the expression of cyclinD1, cyclinD2, cyclinB2, MYOG, MYF5, MYF6 and IGF1 mRNA to promote chicken myoblasts proliferation and differentiation. This study found that the SC and FC gut microbes were significantly different, and the FC chicken gut microbes were able to reshape the FC gut microbiota through FMT, i.e., higher Lactobacillus, promoted chicken myoblasts proliferation and differentiation and growth performance by increasing glutamine levels.
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spelling doaj-art-a3dcffba6a3c42ae8f263280c329f5c02025-08-20T02:47:49ZengElsevierPoultry Science0032-57912025-08-01104810524310.1016/j.psj.2025.105243Fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal Lactobacillus and glutamineYibin Xu0Kuan Chen1Yulin Huang2Yifeng Yan3Weiqin Zhang4Jinghong Tian5Dexiang Zhang6Manqing Liu7Qinghua Nie8State Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaState Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaState Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaState Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaState Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaState Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaState Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaCorresponding author.; State Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaState Key Laboratory of· Livestock and Poultry Breeding, & Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Agriculture, Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, ChinaChicken meat is an essential source of high-quality animal protein, mainly derived from slow-growth chicken (SC) and fast-growth chicken (FC) breeds. Skeletal muscle is a highly adaptable tissue that is influenced by breed differences and the gut microbiome. Investigation whether remodeling the gut microbiota by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) improves chicken growth is an interesting question. We compared the gut microbial composition of eight breeds of SC (Xinghua chicken, Yangshan chicken, Zhongshan Salan chicken, Qingyuan Partridge chicken, Huiyang Bearded chicken and Huaixiang chicken) and FC (Xiaobai chicken and White rock chicken). Fecal microbiota from donor FC (Xiaobai chickens) with superior growth performance were transferred to SC (Xinghua chickens). The effects of FMT on growth performance, metabolic profile and gut microbiome of recipient chickens were evaluated. We found significant differences in gut microbial composition, with a higher abundance of Bacteroidetes in SC and a higher abundance of Firmicutes in FC. Xiaobai chickens with better growth performance and abundant Lactobacillus, and FMT significantly enhanced growth performance, the expression of mRNA (MYOG, MYF5, MYF6 and IGF1) related to breast and leg muscle development and improved the villus/crypt ratio in the jejunum. FMT altered the microbiota in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, increased Lactobacillus abundance, decreased the relative mRNA expression of the intestinal inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α), increased glutamine levels in the host, including in muscle tissues and intestinal contents, and Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the relative abundance of Lactobacillus was positively correlated with glutamine levels. Additionally, antibiotic treatment reduces glutamine levels in the intestines, blood, and muscle tissues of chickens. Glutamine can increase the expression of cyclinD1, cyclinD2, cyclinB2, MYOG, MYF5, MYF6 and IGF1 mRNA to promote chicken myoblasts proliferation and differentiation. This study found that the SC and FC gut microbes were significantly different, and the FC chicken gut microbes were able to reshape the FC gut microbiota through FMT, i.e., higher Lactobacillus, promoted chicken myoblasts proliferation and differentiation and growth performance by increasing glutamine levels.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125004857Chicken growth performanceGut microbiomeFecal microbiota transplantationLactobacillusGlutamine
spellingShingle Yibin Xu
Kuan Chen
Yulin Huang
Yifeng Yan
Weiqin Zhang
Jinghong Tian
Dexiang Zhang
Manqing Liu
Qinghua Nie
Fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal Lactobacillus and glutamine
Poultry Science
Chicken growth performance
Gut microbiome
Fecal microbiota transplantation
Lactobacillus
Glutamine
title Fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal Lactobacillus and glutamine
title_full Fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal Lactobacillus and glutamine
title_fullStr Fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal Lactobacillus and glutamine
title_full_unstemmed Fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal Lactobacillus and glutamine
title_short Fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal Lactobacillus and glutamine
title_sort fecal microbiota transplantation improves growth performance of chickens by increasing the intestinal lactobacillus and glutamine
topic Chicken growth performance
Gut microbiome
Fecal microbiota transplantation
Lactobacillus
Glutamine
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125004857
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