Revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red-feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganisms

Ducks are one of important economic waterfowl species, and their gastrointestinal microbiota play crucial roles in nutrient metabolism, immune regulation, and host health maintenance. In this study, we collect 436 gastrointestinal content samples from red-feather ducks, including samples from the gl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Surong Zhang, Yun Ye, Boqi Wan, Rui Shao, Yuan Fang, Yuanxiu Wang, Jinyuan Wu, Hui Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-10-01
Series:Poultry Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003257912500834X
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849240717111590912
author Surong Zhang
Yun Ye
Boqi Wan
Rui Shao
Yuan Fang
Yuanxiu Wang
Jinyuan Wu
Hui Yang
author_facet Surong Zhang
Yun Ye
Boqi Wan
Rui Shao
Yuan Fang
Yuanxiu Wang
Jinyuan Wu
Hui Yang
author_sort Surong Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Ducks are one of important economic waterfowl species, and their gastrointestinal microbiota play crucial roles in nutrient metabolism, immune regulation, and host health maintenance. In this study, we collect 436 gastrointestinal content samples from red-feather ducks, including samples from the glandular stomach, muscular stomach, duodenum, ileum and cecum, as well as 10 environmental samples (water and soil). We then employed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to explore the gastrointestinal microbial communities of ducks and their interactions with environmental microbes from soil and water. The gastrointestinal microbial community of red ducks showed a spatial gradient distribution characteristic in a counterclockwise direction from the proximal glandular stomach to the distal cecum. Notably, key taxa such as Helicobacter and Bacteroides were identified as significant drivers of spatial microbial distribution. Furthermore, a random forest analysis revealed that 20 genera, including Helicobacter, Bacteroides, and Candidatus Arthromitus could serve as indicator bacteria for distinguish gastrointestinal segments with an accuracy of 93.18 %. Besides, the cecum exhibited the highest microbial α-diversity compared to other gut regions, with enrichment of some short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing microbes like Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, and Prevotellaceae_Ga6A1_group. Co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated the ileum exhibited the highest microbial connectivity. β-diversity analysis showed that, in comparison to the soil samples, the microbial composition of water samples exhibited greater similarity to the intestinal microbial community of ducks. Microbial source tracking further revealed that the microbial composition in water was primarily shaped duck gut microbiota, with a contribution rate of up to 72.77 %. These findings elucidated the spatial heterogeneity of gastrointestinal microbiota in red-feather ducks and explored the microbial transmission between the environment and the duck gastrointestinal tract (GIT), thereby establishing a theoretical foundation for comprehending waterfowl gut microbial ecosystem, refining husbandry practices, and enhancing understanding of environmental interactions.
format Article
id doaj-art-329ffbcdf6cf4b35a7a9bcfcfa046c80
institution Kabale University
issn 0032-5791
language English
publishDate 2025-10-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Poultry Science
spelling doaj-art-329ffbcdf6cf4b35a7a9bcfcfa046c802025-08-20T04:00:27ZengElsevierPoultry Science0032-57912025-10-011041010559310.1016/j.psj.2025.105593Revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red-feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganismsSurong Zhang0Yun Ye1Boqi Wan2Rui Shao3Yuan Fang4Yuanxiu Wang5Jinyuan Wu6Hui Yang7College of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, PR ChinaCollege of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, PR ChinaCollege of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, PR ChinaCollege of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, PR ChinaCollege of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, PR ChinaCollege of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, PR ChinaCollege of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, PR China; Corresponding authors.College of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, PR China; Corresponding authors.Ducks are one of important economic waterfowl species, and their gastrointestinal microbiota play crucial roles in nutrient metabolism, immune regulation, and host health maintenance. In this study, we collect 436 gastrointestinal content samples from red-feather ducks, including samples from the glandular stomach, muscular stomach, duodenum, ileum and cecum, as well as 10 environmental samples (water and soil). We then employed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to explore the gastrointestinal microbial communities of ducks and their interactions with environmental microbes from soil and water. The gastrointestinal microbial community of red ducks showed a spatial gradient distribution characteristic in a counterclockwise direction from the proximal glandular stomach to the distal cecum. Notably, key taxa such as Helicobacter and Bacteroides were identified as significant drivers of spatial microbial distribution. Furthermore, a random forest analysis revealed that 20 genera, including Helicobacter, Bacteroides, and Candidatus Arthromitus could serve as indicator bacteria for distinguish gastrointestinal segments with an accuracy of 93.18 %. Besides, the cecum exhibited the highest microbial α-diversity compared to other gut regions, with enrichment of some short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing microbes like Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, and Prevotellaceae_Ga6A1_group. Co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated the ileum exhibited the highest microbial connectivity. β-diversity analysis showed that, in comparison to the soil samples, the microbial composition of water samples exhibited greater similarity to the intestinal microbial community of ducks. Microbial source tracking further revealed that the microbial composition in water was primarily shaped duck gut microbiota, with a contribution rate of up to 72.77 %. These findings elucidated the spatial heterogeneity of gastrointestinal microbiota in red-feather ducks and explored the microbial transmission between the environment and the duck gastrointestinal tract (GIT), thereby establishing a theoretical foundation for comprehending waterfowl gut microbial ecosystem, refining husbandry practices, and enhancing understanding of environmental interactions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003257912500834XRed-feather duckGastrointestinal microbiotaSpatial heterogeneityMicrobial source tracking
spellingShingle Surong Zhang
Yun Ye
Boqi Wan
Rui Shao
Yuan Fang
Yuanxiu Wang
Jinyuan Wu
Hui Yang
Revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red-feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganisms
Poultry Science
Red-feather duck
Gastrointestinal microbiota
Spatial heterogeneity
Microbial source tracking
title Revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red-feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganisms
title_full Revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red-feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganisms
title_fullStr Revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red-feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganisms
title_full_unstemmed Revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red-feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganisms
title_short Revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red-feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganisms
title_sort revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the gut microbiota of red feather ducks and their interaction with environmental microorganisms
topic Red-feather duck
Gastrointestinal microbiota
Spatial heterogeneity
Microbial source tracking
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003257912500834X
work_keys_str_mv AT surongzhang revealingthespatialheterogeneityofthegutmicrobiotaofredfeatherducksandtheirinteractionwithenvironmentalmicroorganisms
AT yunye revealingthespatialheterogeneityofthegutmicrobiotaofredfeatherducksandtheirinteractionwithenvironmentalmicroorganisms
AT boqiwan revealingthespatialheterogeneityofthegutmicrobiotaofredfeatherducksandtheirinteractionwithenvironmentalmicroorganisms
AT ruishao revealingthespatialheterogeneityofthegutmicrobiotaofredfeatherducksandtheirinteractionwithenvironmentalmicroorganisms
AT yuanfang revealingthespatialheterogeneityofthegutmicrobiotaofredfeatherducksandtheirinteractionwithenvironmentalmicroorganisms
AT yuanxiuwang revealingthespatialheterogeneityofthegutmicrobiotaofredfeatherducksandtheirinteractionwithenvironmentalmicroorganisms
AT jinyuanwu revealingthespatialheterogeneityofthegutmicrobiotaofredfeatherducksandtheirinteractionwithenvironmentalmicroorganisms
AT huiyang revealingthespatialheterogeneityofthegutmicrobiotaofredfeatherducksandtheirinteractionwithenvironmentalmicroorganisms