Metagenomic analysis of non-pathogenic and pathogenic cecal bacteria profiles in quail supplemented with betaine

Cecum microbes are important in utilizing feed nutrients and immunity systems in poultry. This study strived to define the composition of the genus Collinsella, Coriobacteriaceae UCG-002, and Olsenella in the quail cecum supplemented with different betaine schemes. The treatment consisted of 3 levels, namely: control (C); C+0.12% betaine supplementation (B1); and B1–0.12% betaine supplementation (B2). This study used a completely randomized design with three replications. The next-generation sequencing method of the 16S rRNA gene region V3-V4 was applied to view the taxonomy profile of microbes (Threshold: 0.8~1). The relative abundance of the genera Collinsella, Coriobacteriaceae UCG-002, and Olsenella were analyzed using ANOVA and Duncan’s test on R software. The results showed that the provision of B1 increased genus Collinsella and Coriobacteriaceae UCG-002 more than C and B2 (p<0.05). A significant decrease occurred in treatment B1 compared to treatment C indicated in the genus Olsenella as a pathogenic bacterium in the quail cecum (p<0.05). The B2 treatment showed the relative abundance of the genera Collinsella, Coriobacteriaceae UCG-002, and Olsenella tended to return to the microbial composition of treatment C. This study concluded that giving B1 improved the genus Collinsella, Coriobacteriaceae UCG-002, and Olsenella in the quail cecum tract.