Extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome.

Chickens are major source of food and protein worldwide. Feed conversion and the health of chickens relies on the largely unexplored complex microbial community that inhabits the chicken gut, including the ceca. We have carried out deep microbial community profiling of the microbiota in twenty cecal...

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Main Authors: Martin J Sergeant, Chrystala Constantinidou, Tristan A Cogan, Michael R Bedford, Charles W Penn, Mark J Pallen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091941
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author Martin J Sergeant
Chrystala Constantinidou
Tristan A Cogan
Michael R Bedford
Charles W Penn
Mark J Pallen
author_facet Martin J Sergeant
Chrystala Constantinidou
Tristan A Cogan
Michael R Bedford
Charles W Penn
Mark J Pallen
author_sort Martin J Sergeant
collection DOAJ
description Chickens are major source of food and protein worldwide. Feed conversion and the health of chickens relies on the largely unexplored complex microbial community that inhabits the chicken gut, including the ceca. We have carried out deep microbial community profiling of the microbiota in twenty cecal samples via 16S rRNA gene sequences and an in-depth metagenomics analysis of a single cecal microbiota. We recovered 699 phylotypes, over half of which appear to represent previously unknown species. We obtained 648,251 environmental gene tags (EGTs), the majority of which represent new species. These were binned into over two-dozen draft genomes, which included Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pullorum. We found numerous polysaccharide- and oligosaccharide-degrading enzymes encoding within the metagenome, some of which appeared to be part of polysaccharide utilization systems with genetic evidence for the co-ordination of polysaccharide degradation with sugar transport and utilization. The cecal metagenome encodes several fermentation pathways leading to the production of short-chain fatty acids, including some with novel features. We found a dozen uptake hydrogenases encoded in the metagenome and speculate that these provide major hydrogen sinks within this microbial community and might explain the high abundance of several genera within this microbiome, including Campylobacter, Helicobacter and Megamonas.
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spelling doaj-art-e63d787612ad4fe2973bbc98b3b6db682025-08-20T02:22:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0193e9194110.1371/journal.pone.0091941Extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome.Martin J SergeantChrystala ConstantinidouTristan A CoganMichael R BedfordCharles W PennMark J PallenChickens are major source of food and protein worldwide. Feed conversion and the health of chickens relies on the largely unexplored complex microbial community that inhabits the chicken gut, including the ceca. We have carried out deep microbial community profiling of the microbiota in twenty cecal samples via 16S rRNA gene sequences and an in-depth metagenomics analysis of a single cecal microbiota. We recovered 699 phylotypes, over half of which appear to represent previously unknown species. We obtained 648,251 environmental gene tags (EGTs), the majority of which represent new species. These were binned into over two-dozen draft genomes, which included Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pullorum. We found numerous polysaccharide- and oligosaccharide-degrading enzymes encoding within the metagenome, some of which appeared to be part of polysaccharide utilization systems with genetic evidence for the co-ordination of polysaccharide degradation with sugar transport and utilization. The cecal metagenome encodes several fermentation pathways leading to the production of short-chain fatty acids, including some with novel features. We found a dozen uptake hydrogenases encoded in the metagenome and speculate that these provide major hydrogen sinks within this microbial community and might explain the high abundance of several genera within this microbiome, including Campylobacter, Helicobacter and Megamonas.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091941
spellingShingle Martin J Sergeant
Chrystala Constantinidou
Tristan A Cogan
Michael R Bedford
Charles W Penn
Mark J Pallen
Extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome.
PLoS ONE
title Extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome.
title_full Extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome.
title_fullStr Extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome.
title_full_unstemmed Extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome.
title_short Extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome.
title_sort extensive microbial and functional diversity within the chicken cecal microbiome
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091941
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