ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1667088
Discrepancies in Gut Microbial Communities and Serum Metabolites of Hu Sheep with Different Backfat Thickness
Provisionally accepted
- Northwest A&F University College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangling, China
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Excessive fat deposition in sheep significantly impacts production efficiency and animal health. Although market demand for lean meat continues to rise, the regulatory mechanisms governing backfat thickness (BFT) metabolism remain poorly understood. This study conducted multi-omics analysis based on strictly screened Hu sheep samples. Through body size data collection, we first selected 12 individuals with non-significant weight differences (P>0.05) but extremely divergent backfat thickness (BFT) from 160 Hu sheep sharing the same genetic background (6 high backfat thickness (HBF) and 6 low backfat thickness (LBF) individuals). Building on this selection, we employed an integrated metagenomics and metabolomics analysis strategy to systematically compare microbial community structural differences in ileal contents and characteristic changes in serum metabolic products between the two groups. HBF sheep exhibited significantly increased adiposity accompanied by compositional shifts in ileal microbiota, notably featuring Carnobacterium, Parabacteroides distasonis, Lactiplantibacillus, and Bifidobacterium. Serum metabolomics identified key differential glycerophospholipids: 1-(9Z-octadecenoyl)-2-(11Z-eicosenoyl)- glycero-3-phosphate, PE-NMe(15:0/20:3(5Z,8Z,11Z)), PE-NMe₂(18:1(9Z)/20:0), and PE-NMe₂(18:1(9Z)/22:1(13Z)), all enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways. Integrated analysis revealed strong correlations between P. distasonis abundance and these phospholipids. These findings demonstrate BFT-associated adaptive remodeling of serum metabolomes and gut microbial communities, with P. distasonis emerging as a potential modulator of the host-microbe metabolic axis regulating ovine adiposity.
Keywords: Backfat thickness, Metagenomics, serum metabolomics, Gut Microbiota, Sheep
Received: 16 Jul 2025; Accepted: 10 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Xu, Wang, Mao, Huang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: En Ping Zhang, zhangenping@nwafu.edu.cn
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