Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), USDA-ARS Research Participation Program, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
USDA-ARS, NEA Bioinformatics, Beltsville, MD, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 May 10;14(1):10702. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-61299-6.
Coccidiosis, an intestinal disease caused by Eimeria parasites, is responsible for major losses in the poultry industry by impacting chicken health. The gut microbiota is associated with health factors, such as nutrient exchange and immune system modulation, requiring understanding on the effects of Eimeria infection on the gut microbiota. This study aimed to determine the effects of Eimeria acervulina infection on the luminal and mucosal microbiota of the cecum (CeL and CeM) and ileum (IlL and IlM) at multiple time points (days 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14) post-infection. E. acervulina infection decreased evenness in CeL microbiota at day 10, increased richness in CeM microbiota at day 3 before decreasing richness at day 14, and decreased richness in IlL microbiota from day 3 to 10. CeL, CeM, and IlL microbiota differed between infected and control birds based on beta diversity at varying time points. Infection reduced relative abundance of bacterial taxa and some predicted metabolic pathways known for short-chain fatty acid production in CeL, CeM, and IlL microbiota, but further understanding of metabolic function is required. Despite E. acervulina primarily targeting the duodenum, our findings demonstrate the infection can impact bacterial diversity and abundance in the cecal and ileal microbiota.
球虫病是一种由艾美耳属寄生虫引起的肠道疾病，它通过影响鸡的健康，给家禽养殖业造成了重大损失。肠道微生物群与健康因素有关，如营养物质交换和免疫系统调节，因此需要了解艾美耳属感染对肠道微生物群的影响。本研究旨在确定艾美耳属毒害艾美耳虫感染对盲肠（CeL 和 CeM）和回肠（IlL 和 IlM）腔和黏膜微生物群的影响，分别在感染后多个时间点（第 3、5、7、10 和 14 天）进行检测。艾美耳属毒害艾美耳虫感染在第 10 天降低了 CeL 微生物群的均匀度，在第 3 天增加了 CeM 微生物群的丰富度，然后在第 14 天降低了丰富度，在第 3 天至第 10 天降低了 IlL 微生物群的丰富度。基于不同时间点的 beta 多样性，感染后感染鸡和对照鸡的 CeL、CeM 和 IlL 微生物群存在差异。感染降低了 CeL、CeM 和 IlL 微生物群中细菌分类群的相对丰度和一些已知参与短链脂肪酸生成的预测代谢途径，但需要进一步了解代谢功能。尽管艾美耳属毒害艾美耳虫主要靶向十二指肠，但我们的研究结果表明，感染会影响盲肠和回肠微生物群中细菌的多样性和丰度。
