Effect of Dietary Non-phytate Phosphorus Levels on the Diversity and Structure of Cecal Microbiota in Meat Duck from 1 to 21 d of age.

The study was conducted to distinguish the effect of dietary non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) levels on the community diversity and structure of the cecal microbiota in meat duck based on 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. In total, 525 1-d-old ducklings were fed diets (105 ducklings, 7 pens of 15 ducklings, on each diet) containing five levels of NPP (0.22, 0.34, 0.40, 0.46, and 0.58%) for 21 days. The results showed that dietary NPP levels linearly and quadratically increased (<italic>P</italic> < 0.05) 21 d body weight, 1 to 21 d feed intake and NPP intake, and contrarily, linearly decreased (<italic>P</italic> < 0.05) β-diversity of cecal microbial population in ducks. ß-diversity analyses showed that microbiota clustering based on dietary NPP levels occurred, with 0.22% NPP groups distinctly different from the 0.46% and 0.58% NPP group samples. Moreover, dietary NPP levels could change the relative abundance of the phylum <italic>Proteobacteria</italic> (linear, <italic>P</italic> < 0.05), genera <italic>Eubacterium coprostanoligenes</italic> (quadratic, <italic>P</italic> < 0.05), <italic>Ruminococcaceae UCG-014</italic> (quadratic, <italic>P</italic> < 0.05) and <italic>Subdoligrannulum</italic> (linear, <italic>P</italic> < <italic>0.05)</italic>, and <italic>Lachnospiraceae</italic> family (quadratic, <italic>P</italic> < 0.05) in cecal microbiota of ducks. Increasing the dietary NPP level influenced the cecal microbiota and positively affected the growth of meat ducks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]