Effects of the DMRT1 Genotype on the Body Weight and Gut Microbiota in Broiler Chicken

Abstract Intestinal microbiota is a critical determinant of growth and risk of metabolic diseases. Our previous studies showed that the locus rs16775833 within the DMRT1 gene is significantly associated with variation in the population structure of the gut microbiota, which is involved in determining the body weight of chicken. To assess the accuracy of correlation of rs16775833 in located DMRT1 gene on microbial population and body weight in birds, two genotypes GG and TT in the rs16775833 were identified in Chinese Yellow broiler breeders. We found that body weight in the TT genotype group was significantly higher than in the GG genotype group at 7, and 13 weeks of age in 777 female chickens. A full-length 16S rRNA-sequencing approach was used to further evaluate the fecal bacterial composition of female broilers in 11 TT genotype chickens with high weight (HW-TT) and 11 GG genotype chickens with low weight (LW-GG) at 91 days of age. Partial least squares discriminant analysis revealed that the microbiota of the HW-TT and LW-GG females were clearly separated into two clusters. Furthermore, we identified 13 significantly different (P