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However, its developmental characteristics and functional establishment across the entire growth cycle remain poorly understood.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A slow-growing chicken breed (Lueyang Black-boned chicken) was used to characterize dynamic changes in crop histomorphology, mucosal immune status, and microbiota from hatch to adulthood (d 1, 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, 98, and 140;\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200910 per time point). Crop development was divided into two stages. From d 1 to d 42, the crop underwent structural and microbial establishment. This stage was characterized by a slow increase in crop weight, progressive thickening and stabilization of the muscular and mucosal layers, and a gradual increase in secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels. Genes involved in mucin synthesis and modification were markedly upregulated during early development (d 1 to d 14). Meanwhile, the microbiota shifted from environmentally associated facultative anaerobes to lactic acid bacteria\u2013dominated communities (\n                      <jats:italic>Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic>Ligilactobacillus<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and\n                      <jats:italic>unclassified Bacilli<\/jats:italic>\n                      ). Correspondingly, predicted microbial functions shifted from colonization-related pathways to carbohydrate, fatty acid, and butyrate metabolism. From d 42 to d 140, the crop entered a stage of structural expansion and microbial restructuring. Crop weight increased rapidly, and the mucosal layer exhibited fluctuations, while sIgA levels continued to increase and stabilized. During d 42 to d 56, fluctuations in mucosal thickness were accompanied by reduced mucin sialylation. At the same time, lactic acid bacteria populations shifted, with a decrease in\n                      <jats:italic>Ligilactobacillus<\/jats:italic>\n                      and an increase in\n                      <jats:italic>unclassified Bacilli<\/jats:italic>\n                      , followed by stabilization of the microbial community. Functional prediction indicated enrichment of membrane transport systems and diverse nutrient metabolism pathways.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study demonstrates that the early post-hatch period establishes the crop\u2019s basic functions, whereas the growing period is characterized by crop expansion and further maturation of the microbial community. These findings provide a theoretical basis for targeted interventions in the crop to improve poultry production performance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40104-026-01495-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T23:02:18Z","timestamp":1788822138000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Developmental dynamics of crop morphology, microbiota, and mucosal immunity in chickens"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Fei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mengya","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongbo","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiangyu","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanli","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaojun","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhouzheng","family":"Ren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"1495_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s40168-021-01040-x","volume":"9","author":"C Wen","year":"2021","unstructured":"Wen C, Yan W, Mai C, Duan Z, Zheng J, Sun C, et al. 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