Background Coccidiosis,caused by Eimeria parasites,is a major enteric disease in poultry,significantly impacting animal health,production performance,and welfare.This disease imposes a substantial economic burden,cost...Background Coccidiosis,caused by Eimeria parasites,is a major enteric disease in poultry,significantly impacting animal health,production performance,and welfare.This disease imposes a substantial economic burden,costing the global poultry industry up to$13 billion annually.However,effective mitigation strategies for coccidiosis remain elusive.While different chicken breeds exhibit varying resistance to coccidiosis,no commensal bacteria have been directly linked to this resistance.Methods To assess relative resistance of different breeds to coccidiosis,10-day-old Fayoumi M5.1,Leghorn Ghs6,and Cobb chickens were challenged with 50,000 sporulated Eimeria maxima oocysts or mock-infected.Body weight changes,small intestinal lesions,and fecal oocyst shedding were evaluated on d 17.Ileal and cecal digesta were collected from individual animals on d 17 and subjected to microbiome analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Results Fayoumi M5.1 chickens showed the lowest growth retardation,intestinal lesion score,fecal oocyst shedding,and pathobiont proliferation compared to Ghs6 and Cobb chickens.The intestinal microbiota of M5.1 chickens also differed markedly from the other two breeds under both healthy and coccidiosis conditions.Notably,group A Lactobacillus and Ligilactobacillus salivarius were the least prevalent in both the ileum and cecum of healthy M5.1 chickens,but became highly enriched and comparable to Ghs6 and Cobb chickens in response to coccidiosis.Conversely,Weissella,Staphylococcus gallinarum,and Enterococcus durans/hirae were more abundant in the ileum of healthy M5.1 chickens than in the other two breeds.Despite being reduced by Eimeria,these bacteria retained higher abundance in M5.1 chickens compared to the other breeds.Conclusions Fayoumi M5.1 chickens exhibit greater resistance to coccidiosis than Leghorn Ghs6 layers and Cobb broilers.Several commensal bacteria,including group A Lactobacillus,L.salivarius,Weissella,S.gallinarum,and E.durans/hirae,are differentially enriched in Fayoumi M5.1 chickens with strong correlation with coccidiosis resistance.These bacteria hold potential as probiotics for coccidiosis mitigation.展开更多
基金funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grants(2022-67016-37208 and 2024-67016-42415)the Ralph F.and Leila W.Boulware Endowment Fund,Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station Project H-3268+1 种基金Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station Project IOW05620supported by two separate USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Predoctoral Fellowship grants(2024-67011-42944 and 2021-67034-35184).
文摘Background Coccidiosis,caused by Eimeria parasites,is a major enteric disease in poultry,significantly impacting animal health,production performance,and welfare.This disease imposes a substantial economic burden,costing the global poultry industry up to$13 billion annually.However,effective mitigation strategies for coccidiosis remain elusive.While different chicken breeds exhibit varying resistance to coccidiosis,no commensal bacteria have been directly linked to this resistance.Methods To assess relative resistance of different breeds to coccidiosis,10-day-old Fayoumi M5.1,Leghorn Ghs6,and Cobb chickens were challenged with 50,000 sporulated Eimeria maxima oocysts or mock-infected.Body weight changes,small intestinal lesions,and fecal oocyst shedding were evaluated on d 17.Ileal and cecal digesta were collected from individual animals on d 17 and subjected to microbiome analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Results Fayoumi M5.1 chickens showed the lowest growth retardation,intestinal lesion score,fecal oocyst shedding,and pathobiont proliferation compared to Ghs6 and Cobb chickens.The intestinal microbiota of M5.1 chickens also differed markedly from the other two breeds under both healthy and coccidiosis conditions.Notably,group A Lactobacillus and Ligilactobacillus salivarius were the least prevalent in both the ileum and cecum of healthy M5.1 chickens,but became highly enriched and comparable to Ghs6 and Cobb chickens in response to coccidiosis.Conversely,Weissella,Staphylococcus gallinarum,and Enterococcus durans/hirae were more abundant in the ileum of healthy M5.1 chickens than in the other two breeds.Despite being reduced by Eimeria,these bacteria retained higher abundance in M5.1 chickens compared to the other breeds.Conclusions Fayoumi M5.1 chickens exhibit greater resistance to coccidiosis than Leghorn Ghs6 layers and Cobb broilers.Several commensal bacteria,including group A Lactobacillus,L.salivarius,Weissella,S.gallinarum,and E.durans/hirae,are differentially enriched in Fayoumi M5.1 chickens with strong correlation with coccidiosis resistance.These bacteria hold potential as probiotics for coccidiosis mitigation.
