Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2023 May 31;89(5):e0027123. doi: 10.1128/aem.00271-23. Epub 2023 Apr 26.
Broilers in intensive systems may lack commensal microbes that have coevolved with chickens in nature. This study evaluated the effects of microbial inocula and delivery methods applied to day-old chicks on the development of the cecal microbiota. Specifically, chicks were inoculated with cecal contents or microbial cultures, and the efficacies of three delivery methods (oral gavage, spraying inoculum into the bedding, and cohousing) were evaluated. Also, a competitive study evaluated the colonization ability of bacteria sourced from extensive or intensive poultry production systems. The microbiota of inoculated birds presented higher phylogenetic diversity values (PD) and higher relative abundance values of Bacteroidetes, compared with a control. Additionally, a reduction in the ileal villus height/crypt depth ratio and increased cecal IL-6, IL-10, propionate, and valerate concentrations were observed in birds that were inoculated with cecal contents. Across the experiments, the chicks in the control groups presented higher relative abundance values of Escherichia than did the inoculated birds. Specific microbes from intensively or extensively raised chickens were able to colonize the ceca, and inocula from intensive production systems promoted higher relative abundance values of Escherichia. We concluded that , , , , , and are effective colonizers of the broiler ceca. In addition, oral gavage, spray, and cohousing can be used as delivery methods for microbial transplantation, as indicated by their effects on the cecal microbiota, intestinal morphology, short-chain fatty acids concentration, and cytokine/chemokine levels. These findings will guide future research on the development of next-generation probiotics that are able to colonize and persist in the chicken intestinal tract after a single exposure. The strict biosecurity procedures employed in the poultry industry may inadvertently hinder the transmission of beneficial commensal bacteria that chickens would encounter in natural environments. This research aims at identifying bacteria that can colonize and persist in the chicken gut after a single exposure. We evaluated different microbial inocula that were obtained from healthy adult chicken donors as well as three delivery methods for their effects on microbiota composition and bird physiology. In addition, we conducted a competitive assay to test the colonization abilities of bacteria sourced from intensively versus extensively raised chickens. Our results indicated that some bacteria are consistently increased in birds that are exposed to microbial inoculations. These bacteria can be isolated and employed in future research on the development of next-generation probiotics that contain species that are highly adapted to the chicken gut.
在密集型系统中饲养的肉鸡可能缺乏与自然界中鸡共生的共生微生物。本研究评估了向雏鸡接种微生物接种物和接种方法对盲肠微生物群的影响。具体来说，将雏鸡接种盲肠内容物或微生物培养物，并评估了三种接种方法（口服灌胃、将接种物喷洒到床上用品中以及共栖）的效果。此外，一项竞争研究评估了源自广泛或密集型家禽生产系统的细菌的定植能力。与对照组相比，接种鸟类的微生物区系表现出更高的系统发育多样性值 (PD) 和更高的拟杆菌门相对丰度值。此外，用盲肠内容物接种的鸟类的回肠绒毛高度/隐窝深度比降低，并且盲肠中 IL-6、IL-10、丙酸和缬草酸的浓度增加。在整个实验过程中，对照组的雏鸡比接种的雏鸡具有更高的大肠杆菌相对丰度值。来自密集或广泛饲养的鸡的特定微生物能够定植盲肠，来自密集生产系统的接种物促进了大肠杆菌相对丰度值的增加。我们得出结论， 、 、 、 、 和 是肉鸡盲肠的有效定植者。此外，口服灌胃、喷雾和共栖可以用作微生物移植的传递方法，这可以从它们对盲肠微生物群、肠道形态、短链脂肪酸浓度和细胞因子/趋化因子水平的影响中看出。这些发现将指导未来关于能够在单次暴露后定植和在鸡肠道中持续存在的下一代益生菌的开发的研究。家禽业中采用的严格生物安全程序可能会无意中阻碍有益共生菌的传播，而这些细菌是鸡在自然环境中会遇到的。本研究旨在确定能够在单次暴露后定植和在鸡肠道中持续存在的细菌。我们评估了来自健康成年鸡供体的不同微生物接种物以及三种传递方法对微生物群落组成和鸟类生理的影响。此外，我们进行了一项竞争测定，以测试源自密集型和广泛型饲养的鸡的细菌的定植能力。我们的结果表明，一些细菌在暴露于微生物接种物的鸟类中持续增加。这些细菌可以被分离出来，并应用于未来关于含有高度适应鸡肠道的物种的下一代益生菌的开发研究。
