The dynamics of molecular, immune and physiological features of the host and the gut microbiome, and their interactions before and after onset of laying in two hen strains

Aggregation of data, including deep sequencing of mRNA and miRNA data in jejunum mucosa, abundance of immune cells, metabolites, or hor-mones in blood, composition of microbiota in digesta and duodenal mucosa, and production traits collected along the lifespan, provides a comprehensive picture of lifelong adaptation processes. Here, respective data from two lay-ing hen strains (Lohmann Brown-Classic (LB) and Loh -mann LSL-Classic (LSL) collected at 10, 16, 24, 30, and 60 wk of age were analyzed. Data integration revealed strain-and stage-specific biosignatures, including elements indicative of molecular pathways discriminating the strains. Although the strains performed the same, they differed in the activity of immunological and metabolic functions and pathways and showed specific gut-microbiotainteractions in different production periods. The study shows that both strains employ different strategies to acquire and maintain their capabilities under high performance conditions, especially during the transition phase. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the capacity of such integrative analyses to elucidate molecular pathways that reflect functional biodiversity. The bioinformatic reduction of the multidimensional data provides good guidance for further manual review of the data.

Automated summary

Aggregation of various data sets provides a comprehensive understanding of lifelong adaptation processes in laying hens. Two strains of laying hens, LB and LSL, were analyzed at different ages, revealing strain-specific and stage-specific biosignatures, including molecular pathways. Although the strains performed similarly, they showed differences in immunological and metabolic functions, as well as gut-microbiota interactions, indicating different strategies under high performance conditions. The integrative analysis not only provides insights into functional biodiversity, but also offers guidance for further manual review of the data.