Hongyu Ni

Meat quality is a vital economic trait in geese and is largely determined by embryonic muscle development. Building on previously reported whole‐genome resequencing and breast muscle transcriptome data from Xianghai Flying (XHF) Goose and Zi Goose, two breeds with divergent meat quality, f ib ulin ‐ 1 ( FBLN1 ) was identified as a candidate gene showing both strong selection signals and significant differential expression. FBLN1 was overexpressed and knocked down in primary goose embryonic myoblasts. Because no goose‐specific antibody is commercially available, all readouts were obtained at the mRNA level. FBLN1 was found to promote myoblast proliferation and to accelerate the G1/S cell cycle transition, with increased expression of CCND1 and CDK2 . Apoptosis was concurrently suppressed, accompanied by downregulation of Bax and upregulation of Bcl‐2 , whereas transcript levels of Caspase‐3 and Caspase‐9 remained unaltered. The mRNA levels of the myogenic differentiation markers Myomaker , MYOD1 , and MYF5 were correspondingly affected. Bioinformatic analyses predicted FBLN1 to be an extracellular matrix protein that interacts with proteins implicated in muscle elasticity, tenderness, and juiciness. These findings suggest that FBLN1 plays an important role in embryonic myoblast development and represents a valuable candidate gene for improving goose meat quality, thereby offering new perspectives for poultry molecular breeding.

Objective: Compared to Mimas pigeons, Shiqi pigeons exhibit greater tolerance to coarse feeding because of their abundant gut microbiota. Here, to investigate the potential of utilizing intestinal flora derived from Shiqi pigeons, the intestinal flora and body indices of Mimas squabs were evaluated after fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from donors.Methods: A total of 90 one-day-old squabs were randomly divided into the control group (CON), the low-concentration group (LC) and the high-concentration group (HC): gavaged with 200 μL of bacterial solution at concentrations of 0, 0.1, and 0.2 g/15 mL, respectively.Results: The results suggested that FMT improved the body weight of Mimas squabs in the HC and LC groups (p<0.01), and 0.1 g/15 mL was the optimal dose during FMT. After 16S rRNA sequencing was performed, compared to those in the CON group, the abundance levels of microflora, especially Lactobacillus, Muribaculaceae, and Megasphaera (p<0.05), in the FMT-treated groups were markedly greater. Random forest analysis indicated that the main functions of key microbes involve pathways associated with metabolism, further illustrating their important role in the host body.Conclusion: FMT has been determined to be a viable method for augmenting the weight and intestinal microbiota of squabs, representing a unique avenue for enhancing the economic feasibility of squab breeding.

To optimize the utilization of fermented maize stover (FMS) feed during the fattening phase of Xianghai flying geese (XFG), a total of 300 XFG at 125 days of age were randomly assigned to four dietary treatment groups with three replicates of 25 in each set. Group A was fed the basal fattening diet, while the B, C, and D groups were fed the basic fattening diet and diets supplemented with 5%, 10% or 15% FMS, respectively. The findings indicate that the production performance indicators (especially the dressed, eviscerated and breast muscle yield) of Group D closely resembled Group A more than Groups B and C. Intestinal morphometry found that the jejunal villus height and the villus height/crypt depth were significantly increased in Group D compared to Group A. Next, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of the extracted DNA revealed that beneficial microbiota (Coprococcus and Victivallis) showed increased abundance in Group D. Cecal flora function analysis further revealed that some amino acid and glycerol biosynthesis were found to be associated with growth performance in geese. These findings suggest that incorporating 15% FMS as a substitute for a portion of the feed during the fattening phase of XFG can effectively sustain their production performance, optimize the gut microbial community and morphometrical traits, provide new insight into using non-conventional feed resources to reduce feed cost and improve economic benefits in the breeding industry.