Table_2_Specific Microbial Taxa and Functional Capacity Contribute to Chicken Abdominal Fat Deposition.xlsx

Genetically selected chickens with better growth and early maturation show an incidental increase in abdominal fat deposition (AFD). Accumulating evidence reveals a strong association between gut microbiota and adiposity. However, studies focusing on the role of gut microbiota in chicken obesity in conventional breeds are limited. Therefore, 400 random broilers with different levels of AFD were used to investigate the gut microbial taxa related to AFD by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 76 representative samples, and to identify the specific microbial taxa contributing to fat-related metabolism using shotgun metagenomic analyses of eight high and low AFD chickens. The results demonstrated that the richness and diversity of the gut microbiota decrease as the accumulation of chicken abdominal fat increases. The decrease of Bacteroidetes and the increase of Firmicutes were correlated with the accumulation of chicken AFD. The Bacteroidetes phylum, including the genera Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and the species, B. salanitronis, B. fragilis, and P. distasonis, were correlated to alleviate obesity by producing secondary metabolites. Several genera of Firmicutes phylum with circulating lipoprotein lipase activity were linked to the accumulation of chicken body fat. Moreover, the genera, Olsenella and Slackia, might positively contribute to fat and energy metabolism, whereas the genus, Methanobrevibacter, was possible to enhance energy capture, and associated to accumulate chicken AFD. These findings provide insights into the roles of the gut microbiota in complex traits and contribute to the development of effective therapies for the reduction of chicken fat accumulation.

经遗传选育获得更佳生长性能与早期成熟特性的肉鸡，其腹部脂肪沉积（abdominal fat deposition, AFD）会出现附带性增加。越来越多的研究证据表明，肠道菌群与肥胖之间存在密切关联。然而，针对传统肉鸡品种中肠道菌群在鸡肥胖中作用的相关研究仍较为有限。为此，本研究选取400只腹部脂肪沉积水平各异的随机肉鸡，通过对76份代表性样本进行16S rRNA基因测序（16S rRNA gene sequencing），探究与腹部脂肪沉积相关的肠道微生物类群；同时对8只高、低腹部脂肪沉积水平的肉鸡开展鸟枪宏基因组分析（shotgun metagenomic analyses），鉴定出参与脂肪相关代谢的特异性微生物类群。研究结果显示，随着肉鸡腹部脂肪沉积量的增加，肠道菌群的丰富度与多样性呈下降趋势。拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）丰度的下降以及厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）丰度的上升，与肉鸡腹部脂肪沉积的增加呈显著相关。拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）下的拟杆菌属（Bacteroides）、副拟杆菌属（Parabacteroides），以及萨氏拟杆菌（B. salanitronis）、脆弱拟杆菌（B. fragilis）和狄氏副拟杆菌（P. distasonis）等菌种，可通过产生次级代谢产物发挥缓解肥胖的作用。厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）下多个具有循环脂蛋白脂酶活性的菌属，与肉鸡体脂沉积相关。此外，奥氏杆菌属（Olsenella）与斯拉克菌属（Slackia）可能对脂肪与能量代谢起到正向调控作用；而甲烷短杆菌属（Methanobrevibacter）则可能增强能量捕获能力，与肉鸡腹部脂肪沉积的增加相关。本研究结果为解析肠道菌群在复杂性状中的作用提供了新的见解，同时也为开发降低肉鸡脂肪沉积的有效干预策略提供了理论支撑。