Indigenous chickens reveal environment-driven microbiome diversity

Study reveals Ethiopia’s unique ecological impact on indigenous chicken gut microbiomes, highlighting key insights for global poultry farming.

A team of Roslin Institute and the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) researchers has studied the relationships between altitude, environment and the gut microbiomes of indigenous village chickens in Ethiopia.

Their findings reveal significant microbial diversity among the chickens, influenced by climate, altitude and dietary supplements.

The gut microbes clustered into three distinct groups depending on the chickens’ habitat, with one specifically enriched at high altitudes.

Notably, the study identified the genomes of nearly 10,000 unique sets of microbe strains, highlighting the vast and largely unexplored diversity of microbes present in indigenous chickens.

As climate change and consumer demands drive shifts towards free-range farming, lessons from Ethiopia's resilient chickens could guide sustainable practices globally, the team says.

Unique habitat

Ethiopia's altitude variations, climate variability and traditional farming practices offer a unique opportunity to explore how the environment shapes the gut microbiota of indigenous chickens, the research team explains.

Their research analysed gut content samples from more than 200 village chickens across different climates, from highland areas with cooler temperatures to warmer lowland regions.

The findings reveal the contrast between the microbiota of Ethiopian village chickens and European commercial poultry. Village chickens are exposed to high-fibre diets and diverse environmental conditions, resulting in a microbiota that is far more complex and adaptable, the research team explains.

Understudied area

Indigenous chickens supply all chicken products in Ethiopia, playing a crucial role in sustaining the livelihoods of millions of farmers.

However, research more often focuses on commercial breeds in the Western world, leaving the microbiomes of these indigenous poultry species significantly understudied.

This oversight is significant, as indigenous chickens exhibit varied diversity in their gut microbiomes, which likely contributes to their local adaptation and resilience, the experts suggest.

Exploring non-commercial, indigenous poultry populations and their gut microbes could support the development of tailored interventions that consider birds’ unique environmental pressures and dietary habits.

Our study highlights the extraordinary microbial diversity shaped by Ethiopia's climate zones and traditional farming practices. There’s a lot that both commercial and smallholder farmers can learn from each other based on the gut microbiota of their animals. By studying indigenous chickens, we can gain essential insights into how environmental factors drive microbiome diversity, which is crucial for developing sustainable poultry farming practices globally.

Laura Glendinning Chancellor’s Fellow, The Roslin Institute

Looking ahead

Future research aims to explore how these may findings apply to other animals and regions, supporting poultry farming and contributing to food security in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

This study opens the door to a more nuanced understanding of poultry microbiomes, emphasising the need for a global perspective that includes the diverse conditions under which indigenous chickens thrive in diverse ecological contexts, researchers say.

This research was carried out in collaboration with colleagues from China, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Korea, England and Denmark. The study was supported by the International Livestock Research Institute’s (ILRI) livestock genomics programme and the Cooperative Research Programme for Agriculture Science and Technology Development, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Rural Development Administration (RDA), Republic of Korea. 

The research was published in Microbiome in an article entitled 'Altitude-dependent agro-ecologies impact the microbiome diversity of scavenging indigenous chicken in Ethiopia'.

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