Comparative Study on Blood Gas Indicators, Antioxidant Capacity, Intestinal Metabolome, and Microbiome in High- and Low-Performance Tumbler Pigeons.

The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the differences in blood gas indicators, antioxidant indicators, and lactate content between high- and low-performance tumbler pigeons after exercise, and to use metabolomics and metagenomics techniques to screen for differential metabolites and bacteria related to tumbler pigeon exercise. This experiment selected 12 high-performing (HP) and 12 low-performing (LP) tumbler pigeons, half male and half female, and all pigeons were raised under the same conditions. Three experimental pigeons were grouped for exercise training, with a 20 min training session. The results showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in multiple blood gas parameters related to acid-base balance and gas exchange between the HP and LP groups after tumbler pigeon exercise. In addition, the content of glutathione peroxidase (GSH Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in the liver of the HP group of tumbler pigeons was significantly lower than that of the LP group (p < 0.05). In comparison, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly higher than that of the LP group (p < 0.05). The content of lactate (Lac) was significantly higher than that of the LP group (p < 0.05). Non-targeted metabolomics analysis revealed that differential metabolites were mainly enriched in pathways such as biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, starch and sucrose metabolism, and fatty acid synthesis. Intestinal metagenomics analysis revealed that the Corynebacteriaceae, Bacillus, Pseudomonad phylum and Corynebacterium were significant biomarkers with significant differences in the gut microbiota of the HP group of tumbler pigeons (p < 0.05). In summary, there are significant differences in blood physiological parameters, antioxidant capacity, lactate content, intestinal metabolites, and gut microbiota between high- and low-performance tumbler pigeons after exercise. This result provides theoretical guidance and data support for cultivating high-performance tumbler pigeons.