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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1422272

Melatonin Feeding Changed the Microbial Diversity and Metabolism of the Broiler Cecum

Provisionally accepted
Li Zhen Li Zhen Huang Yi Huang Yi Xuewen Bi Xuewen Bi Anyu Gao Anyu Gao Linlin Peng Linlin Peng Yong Chen Yong Chen *
  • College of Animal Science and Technology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    To study the effect of melatonin supplementation on the gut microbes of broilers, 160 healthy 3week-old Ross 308 broilers with similar body weights were selected and randomly divided into four groups (M0, M20, M40, and M80) supplemented with 0, 20, 40, or 80 mg/kg melatonin. The results showed that the abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE) index of cecum microorganisms was significantly lower in the M80 group. The dominant phyla of intestinal contents in the M0, M20, M40, and M80 groups were Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. The M40 group showed an increase in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes spp. in the intestine, while the relative abundance of Ruminococcus spp. in the intestine of the M20, M40, and M80 groups was significantly greater than that of the M0 group. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional analyses revealed that the supplementation of melatonin increases the expression of genes related to cellular processes (cell motility, cell growth and death, cellular community-eukaryotes), environmental information processing (membrane transport, signal transduction) and genetic information processing (transport, transcription), and Cluster of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG) functional analyses revealed that the supplementation of melatonin resulted in a significant increase in Cellular Processes and Signaling (cell motility, signal transduction mechanisms, intracellular trafficking, secretion, and vesicular transport), Information Storage and Processing (RNA processing and modification, chromatin structure and dynamics, translation, ribosomal structure, and biogenesis), Metabolism (energy production and conversion, lipid transportation and metabolism, inorganic ion transport and metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, transport, and catabolism), and Poorly Characterized (general function prediction only). In summary, supplementation of feed with melatonin can increase the diversity of intestinal microorganisms and the relative abundance of Bacteroides and Firmicutes in the cecum, improve digestive ability and nutrient absorption ability, and positively regulate the metabolic ability of broilers.

    Keywords: Melatonin, broiler, Cecum, Intestinal contents, microorganisms

    Received: 23 Apr 2024; Accepted: 02 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhen, Yi, Bi, Gao, Peng and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yong Chen, College of Animal Science and Technology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.