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Growing evidence of intestinal microbiota-muscle axis provides a possibility to improve meat quality of broilers through regulating intestinal microbiota. Water-holding capacity is a crucial factor to evaluate the meat quality. High quality of water-holding capacity is usually described as a low drip-losing rate. This study aimed to explore the relationship between intestinal microbiota and water-holding capacity of muscle in broilers. According to our results, two native breeds of broilers (the Arbor Acres broilers and the Beijing-You broilers) exhibited remarkable differences in microbiota composition. However, the regular of gut bacteria compositions gradually became similar when the two breeds of broiler were raised in a same feeding environment. Therefore, this similar regular of intestinal microbiota induced similar water-holding capacity of the muscle from the two breeds. In subsequent fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments, the intestinal microbiota community of the Arbor Acres broilers was remodeling by oral gavage of bacterial suspension that was derived from the Beijing-You broilers. Then, not only body weight and abdominal fat rate were increased, but also drip loss of muscle was decreased in the Arbor Acres broilers. Additionally, muscle fiber diameter of biceps femoris muscle and expression of MyoD1 were notably enlarged. Muscle fiber diameter and related genes were deemed as important elements for water-holding capacity of muscle. Simultaneously, we screened typical intestinal bacteria in both the two native breeds of broilers by 16S rDNA sequencing. Lachnoclostridium was the only bacteria genus associated with drip-losing rate, meat fiber diameter, body weight, and abdominal fat rate.ImportanceHigher body weight and superior meat quality in livestock imply an adequate source of protein and substantial commercial value. Regulating the intestinal microbiota of broilers is a promising approach to optimize commercial phenotypes. Our results indicate that the intestinal microbiota profile could be reconstructed by external factors, leading to advantageous changes in muscle characteristics. The cecum microbiota of native broilers have the ability to improve certain meat quality and production performance. The population of Lachnoclostridium spp. could be used to regulate body weight and drip-losing rate in broilers, but more study is needed.

The renewal and repair of intestinal epithelium depend on the self-renewal of intestinal stem cells (ISCs) under physiological and pathological conditions. Although previous work has established that exogenous nutrients regulate adult stem cell activity, little is known about the regulatory effect of L-arginine on ISCs. In this study we utilize mice and small intestinal (SI) organoid models to clarify the role of L-arginine on epithelial differentiation of ISCs. We show that L-arginine increases expansion of ISCs in mice. Furthermore, CD90+ intestinal stromal cells augment stem-cell function in response to L-arginine in co-culture experiments. Mechanistically, we find that L-arginine stimulates Wnt2b secretion by CD90+ stromal cells through the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and that blocking Wnt2b production prevents L-arginine-induced ISC expansion. Finally, we show that L-arginine treatment protects the gut in response to injury. Our findings highlight an important role for CD90+ stromal cells in L-arginine-stimulated ISC expansion.

Polyphasic myodegeneration potentially causes severe physiological and metabolic disorders in the breast muscle of fast-growing broiler chickens. To date, the etiology of recent muscle myopathies, such as the white striping ( WS ) phenotype, is still unknown. White striping–affected breast meats compromise the water holding capacity and predispose muscle to poor vascular tone, leading to the deterioration of meat qualities. Herein, this review article provides insight on the complexities around chicken breast myopathies: (i) the etiologies of WS occurrence in chicken; (ii) the metabolic changes that occur in WS defect in pectoralis major; and (iii) the interactions between breast muscle physiology and vascular tone. It also addressed the effects of nutritional supplements on muscle myopathies on chicken breast meats. Moreover, the review explored breast muscle biology focusing on the early preparation of satellite and vascular cells in fast-growth chicken breeds. Transcriptomics and histological analyses revealed poor vascularity in breast muscle of fast growth chickens. Thus, we suggest in ovo feeding of nutrients promoting vascularization and satellite cells replenishment as a potential strategy to enhance endothelium-derived nitric oxide availability to promote vascularization in the pectoralis major muscle region.