ABSTRACT

Intestinal digestibility can be affected by the interaction between host and gut microbiota, which could influence feed efficiency in poultry. In this study, the performance of 1480 10-week-old Wannan Yellow chickens was recorded for 6 weeks, and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated.

Thirteen 16-week-old chickens (7 in the high and 6 in the low FCR group) were selected for carcass performance, ileum structure, and microbiota composition analysis. The results showed that ileum weight and length were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the high feed conversion ratio (HFCR) group. However, compared with the low feed conversion ratio (LFCR) group, villus length was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the HFCR group.

The microbial community between the HFCR and LFCR groups showed no differences, but the dominant microbiota varied between them. The proportions of Acidobacteria were significantly higher in the LFCR group compared with the HFCR group. At the species level, the content of most microbiota in the LFCR group was higher than in the HFCR group and most of these microbiotas are Lactobacillus. According to the results of RDA analysis, Lactobacillus was positively correlated with FCR, ileum length, ileum weight, and ileal villi length.

These results suggested that a prominent effect of ileum microbiota on chicken feed efficiency, and that Lactobacillus could be used as a biomarker for improving the growth performance of Wannan yellow chickens.

Keywords:
Feed conversion ratio; gut microbiota; ileum; Lactobacillus; microbial community