Cecal Microbial Succession and Its Apparent Association with Nutrient Metabolism in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

The poultry industry has become a global leader in livestock farming over the past few decades. Poultry production has a large consumer market as an integrated industry producing high-protein foods. Establishing the association between microbiota and nutrient metabolism processes provides fresh insights for precise nutrient regulation. This study aimed to describe the development of cecal microbiota in broiler chickens throughout the production cycle and to assess the correlation of nutrient metabolism phenotypes with temporal changes in the microbiota. The results suggested that changes in cecal microbes with age partly explain changes in gut nutrient metabolic processes, and numerous microbes were significantly associated with the processes. Therefore, this study attempts to further find efficient ways of improving poultry production. One is to promote nutrient metabolism by identifying potential candidates for probiotics, and another is to foster the dominant colonization of the microbiota by regulating nutrient metabolism.