Microbiome-Related Amino-Acid Profiles of Liver and Muscle Tissues in Arbor Acres Broiler Chickens

Abstract

The study, designed as a group-level integrative data analysis, included homogeneous datasets obtained from 24 Arbor Acres chicken groups. Quantitative amino-acid analysis in chicken tissues was carried out using the capillary electrophoresis method. Gut microbial community analysis was performed using 16S rRNA gene-sequencing technology on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Amino-acid analysis of liver samples revealed 10 Arg-high and 14 Arg-low chicken groups, while for thigh samples, the ratio of Arg-high and Arg-low groups was 18/6, respectively. The gut microbiomes of chickens with an Arg-high amino-acid profile showed increased Chao1 and Shannon diversity index values, defined by a significant abundance of several members of the phylum Bacillota (formerly Firmicutes), including the genera Christensenella, Eisenbergiella, Dysosmobacter, Anaerotignum, Oscillibacter, unclassified Oscillospiraceae, and Lachnospiraceae. In contrast, the gut microbial communities of chickens with low Arg content showed decreased Chao1 and an increased Shannon dominance index, which was explained by the significant abundance of the genus Alistipes belonging to the phylum Bacteroidota (formerly Bacteroidetes). Prediction of amino-acid biosynthetic pathways in chicken-gut microbiomes revealed a general trend toward increased relative abundance of most KEGG orthologs in Arg-high groups, as well as a number of positive links with Arg and Val/Leu + Ile content in liver and thigh samples.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Biology, 2026 · DOI ↗