Gut microbes track pigeon muscle quality differences in multi-omics study

A multi-omics comparison of the Mimas pigeon and the Tianxiang 1 strain found distinct links between gut microbial communities, intestinal structure and breast-muscle metabolism that may help explain reported differences in meat quality. The study, published in BMC Genomics, combined intestinal histology, microbiome profiling, breast-muscle metabolomics and transcriptomics. Its results identify candidate associations rather than establish a causal mechanism, and the authors emphasize that larger studies and direct experimental validation are still needed.

Tianxiang 1 pigeons displayed several features consistent with more developed intestinal function. In the reported histological measurements, they had significantly greater villus height, a higher villus-height-to-crypt-depth ratio and greater goblet-cell density than Mimas pigeons, while their intestinal walls were thinner. These structural measures can indicate differences in absorptive and immune characteristics, but the researchers did not directly test digestive performance. The study therefore supports the conclusion that the strain possesses intestinal features associated with improved development and immune function, rather than demonstrating a measured clinical or production benefit.

The microbial communities also differed markedly, particularly in the ileum. Functional enrichment associated Tianxiang 1 microbiota mainly with intestinal growth and immune regulation. By contrast, the microbial functions linked to Mimas pigeons were dominated by carbohydrate metabolism and lipid biosynthesis. Two genera, Turicibacter and Lactobacillus, occurred in the candidate association pattern characteristic of Tianxiang 1 pigeons and were associated with intestinal morphological measurements. These findings connect the strain’s gut biology with its histological profile, although the analysis cannot determine whether particular organisms caused the tissue differences or whether the host environment shaped the microbes.

Breast-muscle analyses pointed to a contrasting pattern in Mimas pigeons. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses showed significant enrichment of lipid-metabolism-related pathways in their breast muscle. Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas were positively associated with the expression of KIF2C, BIRC5, PRC1 and RACGAP1, and negatively associated with glycolytic intermediates. Because the study was exploratory, these relationships should not be interpreted as proof that either bacterial genus drives changes in muscle metabolism, fat deposition or meat quality. They are candidate gut-muscle links derived from statistical associations across biological layers.

Taken together, the results suggest that the two strains may differ through coordinated relationships between gut condition, microbial function and muscle metabolism. Tianxiang 1 pigeons combined intestinal features associated with growth and immunity with a microbiota linked to those traits. Mimas pigeons showed an alternative pattern in which lipid-related muscle pathways and selected gut bacteria were associated with changes in gene expression and glycolytic metabolism, a pathway relevant to intramuscular fat deposition. The work offers a multi-omics framework for investigating the biological basis of meat-quality differences, but the limited population, breed-level scope and observational design prevent firm generalization. Establishing causality would require controlled interventions, direct functional measurements and validation in larger, independent samples of pigeons.

Subject of Research: Associations among pigeon gut microbiota, intestinal morphology, breast-muscle gene expression and meat-quality differences between two strains.

Article Title: Gut microbiota and multi-omics analysis identify candidate gut-muscle associations underlying breast muscle quality differences between Mimas pigeon and pigeon Tianxiang 1 strain

Article References: Li, W., Zhang, L., Cen, X., Wang, X., Liao, Z., Wu, Y., Ma, Z., Guo, J., Song, J., Lu, L., & Lin, S. (2026). Gut microbiota and multi-omics analysis identify candidate gut-muscle associations underlying breast muscle quality differences between Mimas pigeon and pigeon Tianxiang 1 strain. BMC Genomics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-026-13480-6

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12864-026-13480-6

Keywords: pigeon gut microbiota, breast muscle, meat quality, multi-omics, intestinal morphology, microbiome, transcriptomics, metabolomics, lipid metabolism, microbiota, analysis, identify