Effects of citrus pulp on the composition and diversity of broiler cecal microbes

Diet may affect gut microbial composi-tion and diversity. There were 3 dietary groups: 0% cit-rus pulp diet (C), 1.5% citrus pulp diet (I), and 2.5% citrus pulp diet (II). A total of 180 healthy AA broilers (21-day old) were divided into 3 groups (C, I, and II), each group was set up with 6 replicates, and each repli-cate including 10 broilers (half male and female). At 42 d, the cecal contents of 18 broiler chickens were collected after slaughter. The cecal contents were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing technology. Compared with group C, the abundance of Firmicutes in groups I and II decreased, while the relative abundances of Bacteroi-detes, Verrucomicrobia, Lactobacillus, and Faecalibac-terium increased. LEfSe analysis showed that Actinobacteria, Coriobacteriia, Coriobacteriales, and Ruminococcaceae_bacterium_Marseille_P2935 in group I were significantly higher than those in group C. Bacteria, Coriobacteriales, Coriobacteriia, Corio-bacteriaceae, Slackia, Bacteroides_sp_Marseil-le_P3132, and Lactobacillus_pont is in group II were significantly higher than those in group C. The Staphylococcaceae, Bacteroides_sp_Marseil-le_P31 32, Macroccus, Lactobacillus_pontis, and Streptococcus_equinus in group II were significantly higher than those in group I. Functional predictions indicated that the cecal microbiota of broilers fed the 2.5% citrus pulp diet was more tend to utilize carbo-hydrates through glycolytic/gluconeogenesis metab-olism. Adding citrus pulp to the diet affects the microbial composition and has important implica-tions for studying gut health and improving economic benefits.