Intestinal segment-specific microbiota profiles correlate with body weight divergence in Ningdu yellow chickens.

ABSTRACT: The Ningdu yellow chicken, a premium indigenous breed, has its growth performance as a major focus of its breeding. While the gut microbiota is recognized as a key regulator of host metabolism and health, its specific role in driving body weight (BW) variation in this breed remains unclear. To address this, we characterized the microbial communities in the jejunum, ileum, and cecum of chickens across a BW spectrum using 16S rRNA sequencing, aiming to elucidate how microbiota composition and structure correlate with, and potentially collectively influence on BW. Our findings revealed that the effect of BW on microbial diversity depends heavily on the intestinal segment. Notably, the cecum exhibited significantly higher alpha diversity than the small intestinal segments across all BW groups,

SUBMITTER: Luo W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12639318 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature