Different rearing conditions alter gut microbiota composition and host physiology in Shaoxing ducks

Emerging evidences have linked the gut microbiota to poultry physiology. Gut microbiota composition in Shaoxing ducks were profiled under different rearing conditions: raised on the litter floor and the plastic mesh floor. A total of 46 and 39 luminal content samples from the duodenum, ileum, and cecum of the ducks reared under the two conditions were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis. Proteobacteria (48.66%), Proteobacteria (33.38%), and Bacteroidetes (55.35%) were the dominant phyla in the duodenum, ileum, and cecum of the ducks reared on the litter floor respectively, while Firmicutes (30.80%), Firmicutes (66.62%) and Bacteroidetes (47.15%) were the topmost phyla in the duodenum, ileum, and cecum of the ducks reared on the plastic mesh floor. Physiologically, the height of villi and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the ileum and duodenum were significantly greater in the ducks reared on plastic mesh floor. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that the gut microbiota was significantly associated with the duck phenotypes, such as chest depth and serum estradiol levels (p < 0.05), which were altered by the different rearing conditions. Collectively, our results showed that the rearing floor types have an important effect on the gastrointestinal microbial composition of ducks.