Exploring the composition and structure of the faecal microbial community improves the understanding of the role of the gut
microbiota in the gastrointestinal function and the egg-laying performance of hens. Therefore, detection of hen–microbial
interactions can explore a new breeding marker for the selection of egg production due to the important role of the gut microbiome
in the host’s metabolism and health. Recently, the gut microbiota has been recognised as a regulator of host performance, which
has led to investigations of the productive effects of changes in the faecal microbiome in various animals. In the present study, a
metagenomics analysis was applied to characterise the composition and structural diversity of faecal microbial communities under
two selections of egg-laying performance, high (H, n = 30) and low (L, n = 30), using 16S rRNA-based metagenomic association
analysis. The most abundant bacterial compositions were estimated based on the operational classification units among samples
and between the groups from metagenomic data sets. The results indicated that Firmicutes phylum has higher significant ( P < 0.01)
in the H group than in the L group. In addition, higher relative abundance phyla of Bacteroides and Fusobacteria were estimated in
the H group than the L group, contrasting the phyla of Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria were more relative
abundance in the L group. The families ( Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Acinetobacter, Flavobacteriaceae, Lachnoclostridum and
Rhodococcus) were more abundant in the H group based on the comparison between the H and L groups. Meanwhile, three types
of phyla (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria) and six families (Acinetobacter, Avibacterium, Clostridium,
Corynebacterium, Helicobacter and Peptoclostridium) were more abundant in the L group ( P < 0.01). Overall, the selection of
genotypes has enriched a relationship between the gut microbiota and the egg-laying performance. These findings suggest that the
faecal microbiomes of chickens with high egg-laying performance have more diverse activities than those of chickens with low
egg-laying performance, which may be related to the metabolism and health of the host and egg production variation. |
