{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T20:57:09Z","timestamp":1792789029217,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790294400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Henan Province Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System","award":["HARS-22-18-G3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HARS-22-18-G3"]}]},{"name":"Henan Science and Technology Department","award":["262102111008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["262102111008"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/058p20n09","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["262102111008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["262102111008"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/058p20n09","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Henan Provincial Key Research and Development Program","award":["261111111400"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["261111111400"]}]},{"name":"The Doctoral Research Start-up Fund of Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy","award":["2023HNUAHEDF007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023HNUAHEDF007"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/004pt8s39","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["2023HNUAHEDF007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023HNUAHEDF007"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003xyzq10","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100013066","name":"Key Scientific Research Project of Colleges and Universities in Henan Province","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["25A230008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["25A230008"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100013066","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The duodenum is a key site of nutrient digestion and absorption in meat pigeons, and its microbial community may be associated with host body weight and breast muscle development. In this study, the duodenal microbiota of European meat pigeons and Shiqi pigeons at 14 and 28 days of age were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. At 14 days of age, Firmicutes abundance was significantly higher in Shiqi pigeons than in European meat pigeons, whereas Proteobacteria showed the opposite pattern. Lactobacillus constituted the most abundant microbial group in both breeds. Spearman correlation analysis showed that Firmicutes and Lactobacillus were positively correlated with body weight and pectoral muscle percentage at 14 days of age, whereas Proteobacteria were negatively correlated with these traits. At 28 days of age, fewer between-breed differences in microbial community composition were detected; nevertheless, Firmicutes and Lactobacillus remained significantly positively correlated with body weight and pectoral muscle percentage in both breeds. These cross-sectional associations provide a preliminary reference for future studies of the duodenal microbiota and growth traits in meat pigeons.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16193024","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T14:36:34Z","timestamp":1790346994000},"page":"3024","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Age and Breed Associated Differences in the Duodenal Microbiota of European Meat Pigeons and Shiqi Pigeons and Their Associations with Growth Traits"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Liheng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China"},{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leshan","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"},{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Binglong","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6295-465X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ruiting","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Niu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qianqian","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yiming","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mengru","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bin","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pengkun","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinlei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liyu","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8308-3005","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yanzhang","family":"Gong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101744","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psj.2022.101744","article-title":"Influence of dietary phosphorus concentrations on the performance of rearing pigeons (Columba livia) and bone properties of squabs","volume":"101","author":"Ji","year":"2022","journal-title":"Poult. Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"69","article-title":"The Formation and Current Status of Conservation and Utilization of Shiqi Pigeon","volume":"20","author":"Xu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chin. Livest. Poult. Breed."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"73","article-title":"Determination of Production Performance for Different Strains of European Pigeons","volume":"39","author":"Tang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Acta Ecol. Anim. Domest."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.1038\/nature10213","article-title":"Human nutrition, the gut microbiome and the immune system","volume":"474","author":"Kau","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1186\/s40168-023-01569-z","article-title":"Fecal microbiota transplantation improves chicken growth performance by balancing jejunal Th17\/Treg cells","volume":"11","author":"Ma","year":"2023","journal-title":"Microbiome"},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"97","article-title":"Research Progress and Prospects on The Regulatory Mechanism of Skeletal Muscle Growth and Development in Meat Pigeons","volume":"19","author":"Zhu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Chin. Livest. Poult. Breed."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Xu, X., Fan, S., Wu, H., Li, H., Shan, X., Wang, M., Zhang, Y., Xu, Q., and Chen, G. (2024). A 16S RNA Analysis of Yangzhou Geese with Varying Body Weights: Gut Microbial Difference and Its Correlation with Body Weight Parameters. Animals, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14142042"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1213","DOI":"10.5713\/ab.23.0482","article-title":"Linking growth performance and carcass traits with enterotypes in Muscovy ducks","volume":"37","author":"Fan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Anim. Biosci."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1121","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jgg.2024.06.011","article-title":"Synergy of gut microbiota and host genome in driving heterosis expression of chickens","volume":"51","author":"Huang","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Genet. Genom."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6837","DOI":"10.1096\/fj.201902965R","article-title":"Dysbacteriosis-induced LPS elevation disturbs the development of muscle progenitor cells by interfering with retinoic acid signaling","volume":"34","author":"Song","year":"2020","journal-title":"FASEB J."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104469","DOI":"10.1016\/j.isci.2022.104469","article-title":"Host-genotype-dependent cecal microbes are linked to breast muscle metabolites in Chinese chickens","volume":"25","author":"Feng","year":"2022","journal-title":"iScience"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lei, J., Dong, Y., Hou, Q., He, Y., Lai, Y., Liao, C., Kawamura, Y., Li, J., and Zhang, B. (2022). Intestinal Microbiota Regulate Certain Meat Quality Parameters in Chicken. Front. Nutr., 9.","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2022.747705"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1186\/s40104-016-0061-4","article-title":"Effects of dietary supplementation of probiotic, Clostridium butyricum, on growth performance, immune response, intestinal barrier function, and digestive enzyme activity in broiler chickens challenged with Escherichia coli K88","volume":"7","author":"Zhang","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Anim. Sci. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e20008","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.20008","article-title":"Comparative study of gut microbiota on fat deposition in European meat pigeons and Yuzhong pigeons","volume":"13","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e14361","DOI":"10.1111\/1751-7915.14361","article-title":"Emerging perspectives in the gut-muscle axis: The gut microbiota and its metabolites as important modulators of meat quality","volume":"17","author":"Wen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Microb. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Han, H., Sun, Y., Fan, Y., Zhang, H., Yang, J., Chi, R., Gao, Y., Liu, J., Li, K., and Li, W. (2022). Microbial Diversity and Community Composition of Duodenum Microbiota of High and Low Egg-Yielding Taihang Chickens Identified Using 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing. Life, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/life12081262"},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Zhong, Y.S. (2025). Study on the Difference in Duodenal Morphology, Microbial Structure and Digestive-absorption Function between Dahe Pigs and Dahe Black, Yunnan Agricultural University. (In Chinese)."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104869","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psj.2025.104869","article-title":"Changes in gut microbiota affect DNA methylation levels and development of chicken muscle tissue","volume":"104","author":"Xu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Poult. Sci."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"(2020). Terminology and Measurement Methods for Poultry Production Performance (Standard No. NY\/T 823-2020). (In Chinese)."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"197","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aninu.2023.07.006","article-title":"The temporal fluctuations and development of faecal microbiota in commercial layer flocks","volume":"15","author":"Joat","year":"2023","journal-title":"Anim. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"He, Y., Deng, J., He, J., Wu, B., Zhang, L., Wang, Z., Liu, L., Liu, H., and Xu, X. (2025). Dynamic succession and origin of gut microbiota during early-life in White King pigeon. BMC Microbiol., 25.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12866-025-04449-8"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0027123","DOI":"10.1128\/aem.00271-23","article-title":"Cecal Microbiota Development and Physiological Responses of Broilers Following Early Life Microbial Inoculation Using Different Delivery Methods and Microbial Sources","volume":"89","author":"Marcolla","year":"2023","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1332","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2016.05.041","article-title":"From Dietary Fiber to Host Physiology: Short-Chain Fatty Acids as Key Bacterial Metabolites","volume":"165","author":"Koh","year":"2016","journal-title":"Cell"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mib.2017.07.003","article-title":"Dysbiotic Proteobacteria expansion: A microbial signature of epithelial dysfunction","volume":"39","author":"Litvak","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"496","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tibtech.2015.06.011","article-title":"Proteobacteria: Microbial signature of dysbiosis in gut microbiota","volume":"33","author":"Shin","year":"2015","journal-title":"Trends Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/s12276-018-0126-x","article-title":"Mechanisms regulating intestinal barrier integrity and its pathological implications","volume":"50","author":"Chelakkot","year":"2018","journal-title":"Exp. Mol. Med."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"238","DOI":"10.1038\/nrmicro1098","article-title":"Antimicrobial peptides: Pore formers or metabolic inhibitors in bacteria?","volume":"3","author":"Brogden","year":"2005","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"69","article-title":"Comparative Analysis of Morphology Characteristics, Growth and Reproductive Performance among Yueyang Pigeon, Shiqi Pigeon and the Mimas Strain of European Meat Pigeon","volume":"50","author":"Xu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Guangdong J. Anim. Vet. Sci."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"907","DOI":"10.1007\/s12275-024-00173-6","article-title":"Lactobacillus gasseri BNR17 and Limosilactobacillus fermentum ABF21069 Ameliorate High Sucrose-Induced Obesity and Fatty Liver via Exopolysaccharide Production and \u03b2-oxidation","volume":"62","author":"Jo","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vieira-Silva, S., and Rocha, E.P. (2010). The systemic imprint of growth and its uses in ecological (meta)genomics. PLoS Genet., 6.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgen.1000808"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1186\/s40168-022-01299-8","article-title":"Chicken jejunal microbiota improves growth performance by mitigating intestinal inflammation","volume":"10","author":"Zhang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Microbiome"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"fux052","DOI":"10.1093\/femsre\/fux052","article-title":"The effect of bacterial chemotaxis on host infection and pathogenicity","volume":"42","author":"Matilla","year":"2018","journal-title":"FEMS Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1571","DOI":"10.1042\/BST20160186","article-title":"Against the tide: The role of bacterial adhesion in host colonization","volume":"44","author":"Stones","year":"2016","journal-title":"Biochem. Soc. Trans."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1038\/s41522-023-00390-8","article-title":"Chicken cecal microbiota reduces abdominal fat deposition by regulating fat metabolism","volume":"9","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"npj Biofilms Microbiomes"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Long, X., Zhang, F., Wang, L., and Wang, Z. (2024). The chicken cecal microbiome alters bile acids and riboflavin metabolism that correlate with intramuscular fat content. Front. Microbiol., 15.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2024.1494139"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2083","DOI":"10.1007\/s00726-017-2493-3","article-title":"A review of the relationship between the gut microbiota and amino acid metabolism","volume":"49","author":"Lin","year":"2017","journal-title":"Amino Acids"}],"container-title":["Animals"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/16\/19\/3024\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T04:12:01Z","timestamp":1790655121000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/16\/19\/3024"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]},"references-count":36,"journal-issue":{"issue":"19","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]}},"alternative-id":["ani16193024"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani16193024","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2615"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2615","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]}}}