Microbial Diversity and Community Variation in the Intestines of Layer Chickens

摘要

Early life is a critical window period for the colonization of intestinal microbiota in animals. The colonized intestinal microbiota during this early stage has an important influence on the growth of animals and the development of the immune system. Currently, little is known about how the layer chickens microbiome varies in different intestinal segments in the early life. This study determined the diversity and community variations in the duodenum, caecum and colorectum of white Lohmann layer chickens on fourteen different time points (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 40, 43, 50 and 57 days) by applying 16s rRNA sequencing. Our study found that the intestinal microbiota of white Lohmann layer chickens matured at day 50. In addition, the caecum and colorectum succession pattern is similar but different from that of the duodenum. When the intestinal microbiota matures, the dominant microorganisms in the duodenal intestine are lactobacillus, while the dominant microorganisms in the cecum and colorectum are more complex, mainly Bacteroides, Odoribacter, and Clostridiales vadin BB60 group. This study provides information about changes in the microbiota composition of layer hens with age.