Effects of challenge with , and both on ileal microbiota of yellow feather broilers.

In the poultry industry worldwide, has been causing major economic loss as it can cause necrotic enteritis (NE). The coccidial infection has been considered as the most important predisposing factor of NE caused by . In this study, we aimed to advance our knowledge on ileal microbiota of yellow feather broilers under and/or challenge. Total of 80 healthy day old yellow feather broilers were randomly assigned to four groups including: Control, challenge group (C. Per), challenge group (Cocc), and plus challenge group (Comb). On day 14, the Cocc and Comb group broilers were orally gavaged 1 ml PBS solution containing 25,000 oocysts of and 25,000 oocysts of . Starting on day 17, the C. Per and Comb group broilers were orally gavaged 10 mL of per bird (4 × 10 CFU/mL, ATCC 13124™ Strain) every day for 6 days. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on extracted DNA of ileal digesta samples. The results showed that alone did not affect the alpha diversity of ileal microbiome in yellow feather broilers but co-infection with significantly decreased the diversity of ileal microbiota. and challenge also decreased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria including at the phylum level and at the genus level. At the species level, the relative abundance of was significantly decreased in the challenged groups. This microbial shift information of ileal microbiota under and challenge provide important reference data for the development of therapeutic approaches to necrotic enteritis in yellow-feather broiler chickens.