Muscle skeletal embryonic nuclear protein 1 (MUSTN1) is a microprotein expressed and secreted by skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) and has long been implicated in muscle regeneration, yet its molecular mechanism remains unclear. This study demonstrates that MUSTN1 is transcriptionally regulated by MyoD1 and exerts its regenerative effects by inhibiting ferroptosis. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the overexpression of MUSTN1 leads to the enrichment of genes associated with ferroptosis. Mechanistically, MUSTN1 directly binds to ACO1 (IRP1), enhancing its interaction with the TFRC 3' untranslated region (UTR) of TFRC, thereby promoting TFRC expression and inhibiting SLC39A14, which ultimately alleviates iron accumulation and lipid peroxidation. Functional experiments confirmed that MUSTN1 mitigates dexamethasone-induced atrophy by enhancing myotube area, proliferation, and mitochondrial membrane potential. Additionally, MUSTN1 is secreted via exosomes, and treatment with exosomes containing MUSTN1 significantly promotes in vitro cell proliferation and differentiation while regulating cellular ferroptosis. In summary, our study reveals MUSTN1 as a MyoD1-driven, exosome-transmissible regulatory factor that inhibits ferroptosis by activating the ACO1-TFRC axis, providing mechanistic insights into muscle regeneration and potential therapeutic strategies for muscle atrophy-related diseases.

Managing fat accumulation is a critical goal in the poultry industry, with the liver being the primary site for lipid metabolism in chickens. This study used non-targeted metabolomics to investigate dynamic changes in metabolite composition in chicken liver across five physiological stages. A total of 1121 metabolites were identified, with 749 and 372 detected in positive- and negative-ion modes, respectively. The regulation of hepatic lipolysis involves numerous metabolic pathways, making it a complex process. We performed trend analysis of lipid, carbohydrate and amino acid-related metabolites. Age exerted major effects on hepatic metabolism, significantly enriching pathways including alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. Transcriptomic analysis identified 12 lipid-metabolism-related genes, showing a tendency of continuously increase. Potential functional genes influencing lipid metabolism-related pathways were identified through a comprehensive analysis of differential lipid-related metabolites and genes, including fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2), acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase 2 (ACAT2), apovitellenin 1 (APOV1), vitellogenin 1 (VTG1), membrane-bound O-acyltransferase domain-containing protein 2 (MBOAT2) and ELOVL fatty acid elongase 1 (ELOVL1). These findings could help improve understanding of hepatic metabolism during different physiological stages and identify valuable biomarkers for specific metabolite accumulation.

Preserved duck egg yolk (PEY) gradually formed a distinctive liquid inner core (L-PEY) and solidified outer layer (S-PEY) during alkaline pickling. However, the distinctions in small molecule metabolites between these two regions have remained unclear. In this study, PEY, S-PEY, and L-PEY were extensively compared using widely focused metabolomics. The majority of the 596 metabolites found were fatty acyls (FAs) (14.4%), organic acids and their derivatives (12.9%), and amino acids and their metabolites (22.9%). The major classes, which combined accounted for 56.4%u201379.1% of the total abundance, were glycerophospholipids (GPs), amino acids and their metabolites, and organic acids and their derivatives, according to relative quantitative abundance analysis. A total of 117, 47, and 169 differential abundance metabolites were identified in the comparisons of L-PEY vs. PEY, S-PEY vs. PEY, and L-PEY vs. S-PEY, respectively, mainly belonging to amino acids and their metabolites and FAs. GPs and amino acids were more abundant in L-PEY than in S-PEY, but FAs were significantly more abundant in S-PEY. Specifically, lysophospholipid (20:4/0:0), pyroglutamic acid, L-valine, lysine, and histidine were significantly more abundant in L-PEY, whereas free fatty acid (FFA) (22:5), FFA (20:2), and 12,13-epoxyoctadecenoic acid were significantly more abundant in S-PEY. These findings provide new insights into the metabolic basis of regional differentiation and quality formation in PEY.

The high protein and phospholipid content of yolk granules,which are naturally occurring lipoprotein complexes,coupled with a low cholesterol level.The development and utilization of yolk granules require a detailed investigation of their nutritional composition and characteristics.This study aimed to analyze the differences in nutrient composition among yolk granules from different poultry(chicken,duck,and quail)by evaluating nutrient content,microstructure,and physicochemical properties,accompanying lipidomics techniques.The findings revealed that the water,total lipid,and ash contents of duck yolk granules(DYG)were significantly lower than those of chicken yolk granules(CYG)and quail yolk granules(QYG),while the average particle size of DYG was significantly higher than that of CYG and QYG.A total of 1 146 lipids molecules were identified through lipidome analysis,with glycerophospholipids(520)being the most abundant lipid class.The contents of sphingolipids content were highest in CYG,while the contents of glycerophospholipids,glycerides and fatty acyls were higher in QYG.QYG possesses a greater ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids content.Furthermore,34,19,and 51 lipid biomarker candidates were identified in CYG/DYG,CYG/QYG,and DYG/QYG,respectively.This study offers valuable insights into the nutritional properties of yolk granules from different poultry eggs.

Skeletal muscle growth and development represent a pivotal biological process that determines both the yield and quality of poultry meat. As chickens age, there is an observable shift in their muscle structure, function and metabolic properties. However, the molecular mechanisms by which age regulates chicken muscle development and meat quality formation are not yet fully understood. The objective of this study was to elucidate the fundamental molecular mechanisms through which the aging process influences the development of chicken muscle and the quality of meat. A total of 20 female Dahen chickens, comprising 10 birds at 3 months of age and 10 at 72 months of age, were subjected to systematic measurements of meat quality indexes and muscle fiber characteristics. From each age group, 3 out of the 10 birds were randomly selected for breast muscle transcriptome analysis. The results demonstrated that aged chicken breast muscle exhibited reduced tenderness, augmented intramuscular fat content and water-holding capacity, while muscle fibers demonstrated significant hypertrophy and reduced density. A total of 819 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by RNA-seq, which were predominantly enriched in the biological processes of muscle system process, muscle organ development, and skeletal muscle cell differentiation, and were involved in the pathways of cytoskeleton in muscle cells, and extracellular matrix (ECM)–receptor interaction signaling, among others. The expression of key genes, such as COL1A2, THBS2, FN1, and MYBPC1, was found to be significantly altered, a finding that was verified by qPCR in agreement with the sequencing results. The study demonstrated that age impacts meat quality traits by inducing muscle fiber hypertrophy, ECM remodeling and metabolic reprogramming. The related genes provide a valuable reference point for understanding the genetic regulation of avian muscle development and meat quality.

Understanding the biochemical basis of chicken meat flavor is important for improving meat quality. An integrated metabolomic, lipidomic, and transcriptomic approach was applied to compare breast (BM) and leg meat (LM) of 120-day-old Tianfu broilers. Compared with BM, LM showed higher pH values, a 43.05% lower drip loss, and markedly higher intramuscular fat (IMF) content (6.217% vs. 1.954%), whereas BM contained more inosine monophosphate and exhibited greater shear force. GC-MS and lipidomics identified 147 volatile compounds and 1972 lipid species, respectively, with glycerophospholipids, particularly phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine, closely associated with flavor differences between muscles. Multi-omics factor analysis indicated circ_015424 as a key molecular feature correlated with lipid metabolism and flavor-related pathways. Functional assays further showed that circ_015424 enhanced lipid droplet accumulation in intramuscular adipocytes via the miR-196-1-3p/MOGAT1 axis. These results clarify lipid-related mechanisms underlying muscle-specific flavor formation in chicken.

While the gut microbiota is recognized as a key modulator of host immunity, its age-related dynamics in adult-to-senescent broilers remain poorly characterized. This study aimed to comprehensively analyze age- and sex-related variations in serum immune indices and gut microbiota composition in yellow-feathered broilers aged 1 to 4 years (n = 40). Peripheral blood and fecal samples were gathered for immune profiling using ELISA (STP, IgA, IgG, IL-4, IFN-γ) and 16S rDNA sequencing. The results indicated that serum STP levels peaked at 1 year (p < 0.01), whereas IgG levels exhibited an age-related increase (p < 0.05). Although no significant compositional separation was detected among age groups by PERMANOVA (Adonis p = 0.14), within-group beta dispersion differed significantly across ages (p < 0.05). Firmicutes and Proteobacteria dominated the fecal microbiota at the phylum level. Exploratory Spearman correlation analysis (based on nominal p-values) identified potential associations, such as a positive nominal correlation between Limosilactobacillus abundance and IgG levels (p < 0.01), and a negative nominal correlation between Achromobacter and IL-4 (p < 0.01); however, these findings require further validation due to the lack of correction for multiple testing. Notably, one-year-old hens exhibited the highest abundance of beneficial taxa, such as Lactobacillus, which corresponded with their elevated STP levels. These findings highlight age- and sex-specific interactions between the gut microbiota and immune responses. From a theoretical perspective, one-year-old hens display a gut microbiota and immune profile that could be favorable for microbiota transplantation; however, direct functional validation (e.g., FMT experiments in recipient models) is required to support this hypothesis. This study offers novel insights into avian aging models and microbiota-mediated immune regulation, presenting potential strategies to enhance poultry health in intensive farming systems.

BACKGROUND:Programmed cell death plays a critical role in skeletal muscle atrophy. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of programmed cell death driven by lipid peroxidation, has been implicated in various diseases, but its role in skeletal muscle atrophy remains unclear. METHODS:Ferroptosis in skeletal muscle atrophy was investigated using two models: dexamethasone (Dex)-induced atrophy (n = 6 independent cell cultures per group) and simulated microgravity (n = 6 mice per group). Conditional Nestin knockout (KO) mice were generated using CRISPR/Cas9 (n = 6-8 mice per group), with wild-type (WT) controls (n = 6-8). Phenotypic analyses included histopathology (HE staining), functional assessments (muscle strength, weight analysis, treadmill), and dystrophy evaluation (dystrophin staining). Molecular analyses involved flow cytometry, ELISA, transmission electron microscopy, PI staining, and IP/MS to delineate Nestin-regulated ferroptosis pathways in skeletal muscle atrophy. RESULTS:Ferroptosis was significantly activated in both atrophy models, with a 2.5-fold increase in lipid peroxidation (p < 0.01), a 2-fold accumulation of Fe2+ (p < 0.01) and a 50% reduction in Nestin expression (p < 0.001). Nestin KO mice exhibited exacerbated muscle atrophy, showing a 40% decrease in muscle weight (p < 0.01) and a 30% reduction in muscle strength (p < 0.05) compared to WT mice. Nestin overexpression mitigated Dex-induced ferroptosis, reducing lipid peroxidation by 40%, decreasing Fe2+ accumulation by 50% (p < 0.01), and improving muscle function by 30% (p < 0.05). Mechanistically, Nestin interacted with MAP 1LC3B (LC3B) to catalyse LC3B polyubiquitination at lysine-51, reducing LC3B availability for autophagy and inhibiting autophagy flux by 60% (p < 0.01), leading to a 50% reduction in ferroptosis (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Our study identifies Nestin as a critical regulator of ferroptosis-autophagy crosstalk in skeletal muscle atrophy. Targeting Nestin-LC3B ubiquitination may offer novel therapeutic strategies for preventing muscle wasting in diseases such as cachexia and sarcopenia.

Growth performance, an important trait in the broiler industry, is defined by both the host genome and gut microbiota. At present, it is not known how gut microbiota contribute to the growth of Dahen broilers, a commercially important breed in China. In this study, we used metagenome sequencing to compare the taxonomic composition and functional implications of cecal microbiota in fast-growing Dahen broilers and slow-growing Tibetan chickens. A total of 2,207,811 unique genes were assembled in the non-redundant set, and 99% of them were taxonomically annotated as having a bacterial origin. The fast-growing group displayed a higher alpha diversity than the slow-growing group in terms of ACE, Chao1, and Good’s coverage statistics. The two groups presented also significantly different (P < 0.05) relative abundances of the genera Collinsella, Olsenella, Pyramidobacter, Basidiobolus, and Mieseafarmvirus, along with that of eight species (e.g., Olsenella timonensis and Victivallis sp. Marseille Q1083). Although not statistically significant, we found a higher expression of several energy metabolism-related eggNOG terms in the fast-growing group. In summary, the present study identifies gut microbiota associated with growth performance in Dahen broilers and offers new tools for gut microbiome-related intervention in this breed.

Ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1) is pivotal in the storage, release, and utilization of iron, plays a crucial role in the ferroptosis pathway, and exerts significant impacts on various diseases. Iron influences skeletal muscle development and health by promoting cell growth, ensuring energy metabolism and ATP synthesis, maintaining oxygen supply, and facilitating protein synthesis. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying iron's regulation of skeletal muscle growth and development remain elusive. In this study, we demonstrated that the conditional knockout (cKO) of FTH1 in skeletal muscle results in muscle atrophy and impaired exercise endurance. In vitro studies using FTH1 cKO myoblasts revealed notable decreases in GSH concentrations, elevated levels of lipid peroxidation, and the substantial accumulation of Fe2+, collectively implying the induction of ferroptosis. Mechanistically, E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase SMURF1 (SMURF1) acts as an E3 ubiquitin ligase for FTH1, thereby facilitating the ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of FTH1. Consequently, this activation of the ferroptosis pathway by SMURF1 impedes myoblast differentiation into myotubes. This study identifies FTH1 as a novel regulator of muscle cell differentiation and skeletal muscle development, implicating its potential significance in maintaining skeletal muscle health through the regulation of iron homeostasis.

BACKGROUND:Hemodynamics is fundamental to understanding cardiovascular physiology and pathology, with parameters such as blood flow velocity, vascular resistance, pressure, and wall shear stress (WSS) serving as critical indicators of vascular health. Although computed tomography angiography-based computational fluid dynamics (CTA-CFD) has advanced human and livestock studies, its application in poultry remains limited by species-specific traits and methodological constraints, leaving dynamic functional insights underexplored. METHOD:This study applied CTA-CFD to establish a non-invasive framework for poultry hemodynamic evaluation. A healthy rooster was scanned using high-resolution CTA, and three-dimensional vascular reconstructions were generated for CFD simulations of blood flow velocity, pressure distribution, and WSS under normal and heat stress conditions. RESULT:The results demonstrated that the poultry aorta exhibits a tapering geometry that accelerates blood flow and optimizes energy allocation to major branches. Under physiological conditions, spatially patterned WSS supported endothelial stability, whereas heat stress induced marked increases in velocity and pressure gradients, with high-WSS regions expanding by 148 %. Extreme WSS values disrupted endothelial integrity, triggered inflammatory signaling, and initiated systemic inflammatory response syndrome, thereby increasing the risk of thrombosis, organ dysfunction, and mortality. CONCLUSION:This work represents the first application of CTA-CFD in poultry, providing methodological innovation, mechanistic insights into heat stress-induced vascular injury, and a theoretical foundation for early detection, precision breeding, and comparative cardiovascular modeling relevant to human medicine.

Airborne diseases pose a significant challenge in intensive livestock farming due to their rapid transmission. Aerosols facilitate the spread of pathogens, introducing external infections to farms and enabling cross-transmission within barns. To address knowledge gaps in aerosol dynamics in animal respiratory tracts and enhance understanding of airborne disease transmission, this study employed CT scanning, 3D printing, and CFD technologies to develop and validate a pig respiratory model. Qualitative and quantitative results from the present study reveal spatiotemporal heterogeneity in aerosol deposition and transmission. Under rest conditions, for aerosols with D ≤ 5.0 μm, 21.1% of inhaled aerosols were deposited in the lung by the end of a respiratory cycle. Doubling the respiratory cycle or the inhalation rate could further increase the penetration ability of small-sized aerosols by approximately 60% to 70%. Moreover, the asymmetric distribution of airflow between the left and right halves of the lower respiratory tract (QL/R = 0.89) resulted from the leftward position of the pig’s heart and consequently led to a deposition ratio of about 0.83 between the left and right bronchial airways. These findings provide fundamental scientific data for the development and application of aerosolized vaccines and offer insights into optimizing respiratory intervention strategies.

Lentinula edodes C91-3 is an edible mushroom with demonstrated medicinal activity against various types of cancer in vitro and in vivo.The gene for Latcripin-5 (LP-5) was obtained from Lentinula edodes strain C 91-3 and inserted into a pET32a (+) vector, which was then, expressed in the Rosetta gami (DE3) strain.The purified LP-5 protein was analyzed using SDS-PAGE and western blot.The optimal solubilization parameters were found to be 0.6 mM IPGT for 6 h incubation at 37℃.The solubilized protein was refolded using a refolding buffer and then dialyzed and concentrated using a dialysis buffer and PEG 20000, respectively.Phyre2 bioinformatics tool was used for protein modelling.The concentrated LP-5 protein was tested for its effect on the viability and cytotoxicity of various cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines using a cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay.The LP-5 protein had the lowest IC50 value against the liver cancer line HepG2, at 58.15 μg/ml.Dose-and time-dependent morphological changes, such as cell shrinkage, blebbing formation, and cell fragmentation, were observed in treated cells.Apoptosis markers were evaluated using qPCR, flow cytometry, and western blot, and it was found that LP-5 protein increased the expression of Bax, Caspass-3, -8, -9, Cytochrome-C, and PARP, while decreasing the expression of Bcl2.Cell cycle arrest was also analyzed through qPCR, flow cytometry.Western blot results showed upregulated p21 and p27while CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, Cycline D1, and Cycline E1 were downregulated.These results suggest that LP-5 protein has potential as an anticancer agent against liver cancer cells.

Preserved duck egg yolk (PEY) can be divided into a solidified outer layer (S-PEY) and a liquid inner core (L-PEY) during the middle-later stages of alkaline pickling. The differences among PEY, S-PEY, and L-PEY were systematically investigated using property characterization, nutrient determination, and lipidomics analysis. The results demonstrated that L-PEY exhibited a more vivid red-yellow color, with higher total protein, total lipid, and phosphorus contents compared to S-PEY. Conversely, the pH, moisture, and sodium contents were higher in S-PEY than in L-PEY. Quantitative lipidomics analysis revealed that L-PEY possessed a significantly higher total lipid abundance than PEY, with 19 lipid subclasses (551 lipid molecules) being notably more abundant in L-PEY. Phospholipids exhibited the most significant differential abundance, with the abundance of phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) and phosphatidylcholines (PC) in L-PEY being 19.6 and 13.6 times greater than those in S-PEY, respectively. These findings indicated that the alkaline pickling procedure resulted in substantial nutrient migration duck egg yolk, particularly in the case of phospholipids. The results provide novel insights into the processing mechanism of preserved duck egg yolk.

The evolution of the chilled processing technology has precipitated the emergence of ice-fresh poultry meat as a significant sales channel. The aesthetic appearance of chicken carcasses has become increasingly important in the context of poultry ice-fresh sales, in conjunction with the comprehensive implementation of China's policies for poultry. Feather follicle development is a significant factor in determining the aesthetic appearance of the carcass. Recent studies have focused on the molecular mechanisms associated with feather follicle development. The WNT, EGF, FGF, SHH, and BMP signalling pathways have been identified as the regulatory mechanisms involved in the development of feather follicles in various segments of poultry skin. However, the BMP signalling pathway, acting as an inhibitor, has been demonstrated to impede the regulatory processes governing feather follicle development via these signalling pathways. This review summarises the structure and overview of feathers and feather follicles, the research progress of signalling pathways that affect the development of poultry feather follicles, the research progress of poultry follicle traits, and the research progress of feather follicle development biotechnology. The present review focuses on summarising the molecular mechanisms that affect feather follicle development, and on providing a summary of the application of biotechnology in this field. It also offers ideas and theoretical references for the molecular mechanism of poultry feather follicle development.

The feather growth rate in chickens included early and late feathering. We attempted to characterize the genes and pathways associated with the feather growth rate in chickens that are not in agreement with Mendelian inheritance. Gene expression profiles in the hair follicle tissues of late-feathering cocks (LC), early-feathering cocks (EC), late-feathering hens (LH), and early-feathering hens (EH) were acquired using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), mass spectrometry (MS), and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT‑PCR). A total of 188 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were ascertained in EC vs. LC and 538 DEGs were identified in EH vs. LH. We observed that 14 up-regulated genes and 9 down-regulated genes were screened both in EC vs. LC and EH vs. LH. MS revealed that 41 and 138 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were screened out in EC vs. LC and EH vs. LH, respectively. Moreover, these DEGs and DEPs were enriched in multiple feather-related pathways, including JAK-STAT, MAPK, WNT, TGF-β, and calcium signaling pathways. qRT-PCR assay showed that the expression of WNT8A was decreased in LC compared with EC, while ALK and GRM4 expression were significantly up-regulated in EH relative to LH. This study helps to elucidate the potential mechanism of the feather growth rate in chickens that do not conform to genetic law.

Follicular atresia in chickens seriously reduced the egg production and economic benefits of chickens. LncRNA plays a key role in the process of follicular atresia. In this study, RNA-seq and Ribo-seq were performed on normal and atretic follicles of Dahen broilers to screen out lncRNAs that may regulate follicle atresia, and to study the molecular mechanisms of their regulation. GRN granulin precursor (lncGRN, ID: 101748909) was highly expressed in atretic follicles with translational ability. A molecular regulatory network of lncGRN/miR-103-3p/FBXW7 was constructed through bioinformatics analysis and dual luciferase reporting. LncGRN promoted the expression of FBXW7 by adsorption of miR-103-3p, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of chicken granulosa cells (GCs), promoting apoptosis of chicken GCs and inhibiting steroid hormone synthesis thus induced follicular atresia. Meanwhile, we also found a micropeptide named GRN-122aa derived by lncGRN which can promote follicular atresia. In conclusion, our study found that lncGRN promoted follicular atresia through the lncGRN/miR-103-3p/FBXW7 axis and the translation micropeptide GRN-122aa. This study provided new insight into the post-transcriptional regulation mechanism of lncGRN suggesting that lncGRN may act as a potential to regulate chicken follicle development, and provided a theoretical argument for further improving the egg production of chickens through molecular breeding.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of soybean bioactive peptide (SBP) on the growth performance and intestinal health of yellow-feathered broilers and to further elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of intestinal health using multi-omics analysis. A total of 320 1-day-old yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into two groups, with 10 replicates per group and 16 birds per replicate. Broilers in the control group received the basal diet, and those in the experimental group (SBPG) received the basal diet with 0.2% SBP replacing the same amount of soybean meal. The experiment lasted for 70 d. The results showed that, compared with those in the control group, the final body weight and average daily gain of SBPG broilers were significantly higher (P < 0.05), and the feed conversion ratio was significantly lower (P < 0.05). Notably, SBP significantly improved gut health in chickens, including increased intestinal villus height, decreased levels of proinflammatory factors, such as IL-1β and interferon-γ, and upregulated expression of tight junction proteins, such as ZO-1 and occludin. In addition, transcriptome sequencing results revealed that broilers in the SBP group exhibited significant enrichment in multiple metabolic pathways, including fatty acid metabolism, fatty acid degradation, and the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids (P < 0.05). Cecal 16S rRNA sequencing showed that SBPG increased the abundance of the butyrate-producing beneficial bacteria Muribaculaceae. Subsequent cecal metabolome analysis also revealed that SBPG enhanced lipid-related metabolic pathways, such as alpha-linolenic acid metabolism and GPI-anchor biosynthesis. In conclusion, SBP is a potential feed additive that can improve intestinal morphology, enhance intestinal immunity and barrier function, optimize the structure of the intestinal microbiota, and enhance metabolic function.

In this study, we combined genomic and gut microbiome data to evaluate 13 economically important growth and feed efficiency traits in 407 Dahen broilers, including body weight (BW) at four, six, nine, and ten weeks of age (BW4, BW6, BW9, and BW10), as well as the average daily gain (ADG6, ADG9, and ADG10), feed conversion ratio (FCR6, FCR9, and FCR10), and residual feed intake (RFI6, RFI9, and RFI10) for the three growing ages. The highest ADG and lowest FCR were observed at nine and six weeks of age, respectively. We obtained 47,872 high-quality genomic single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by sequencing the genomes and 702 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) of the gut microbiome by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene, both of which were used for analyses of linear mixed models. The heritability estimates (± standard error, SE) ranged from 0.103 ± 0.072 to 0.156 ± 0.079 for BW, 0.154 ± 0.074 to 0.276 ± 0.079 for the ADG, 0.311 ± 0.076 to 0.454 ± 0.076 for the FCR, and 0.413 ± 0.077 to 0.609 ± 0.076 for the RFI traits. We consistently observed moderate and low negative genetic correlations between the BW traits and the FCR and RFI traits (r = −0.562 to −0.038), whereas strong positive correlations were observed between the FCR and RFI traits (r = 0.564 to 0.979). For the FCR and RFI traits, strong positive correlations were found between the measures at the three ages. In contrast to the genomic contribution, we did not detect a gut microbial contribution to all of these traits, as the estimated microbiabilities did not confidently deviate from zero. We systematically evaluated the contributions of host genetics and gut microbes to several growth and feed efficiency traits in Dahen broilers, and the results show that only the host genetics had significant effects on the phenotypic variations in a flock. The parameters obtained in this study, based on the combined use of genomic and gut microbiota data, may facilitate the implementation of efficient breeding schemes in Dahen broilers.