The host susceptibility/resistance-related genes and gut microbial characteristics in Salmonella pullorum -infected chickens

• Published in: Microbiology spectrum Vol. 13; no. 4; p. e0039224
• Main Authors: Ding, Jinmei, Zhu, Jianshen, Zhou, Hao, Yang, Kaixuan, Qin, Chao, Zhang, Yaodong, Han, Chengxiao, Yang, Lingyu, He, Chuan, Xu, Ke, Zheng, Yuming, Luo, Huaixi, Chen, Kangchun, Zhou, Wenchuan, Jiang, Shengyao, Liu, Jiajia, Zhu, Wenqi, Niu, Qing, Zhou, Zhenxiang, Wang, Shaohui, Yu, Shengqing, Huang, Qizhong, Meng, He
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 01.04.2025
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Chickens - genetics; Chickens - microbiology; Environmental Microbiology; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - genetics; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; genome-wide association analysis; Genome-Wide Association Study; gut microbiota; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Poultry Diseases - genetics; Poultry Diseases - microbiology; pullorum disease; Research Article; Salmonella - genetics; Salmonella Infections, Animal - genetics; Salmonella Infections, Animal - microbiology; Salmonella pullorum; susceptibility/resistance; Salmonella pullorum; susceptibility/resistance; pullorum disease; gut microbiota; genome-wide association analysis
• ISSN: 2165-0497; 2165-0497
• DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00392-24

Pullorum disease can be transmitted vertically and horizontally. Population purification and antibiotic treatment are the main methods for preventing and treating this disease, but they are associated with issues, such as high cost, poor accuracy, bacterial resistance, and overused antibiotics. In traditional perspectives, research on pullorum disease primarily focused on clinical symptoms, epidemiological characteristics, and the pathogenic sites. This study, however, approaches the subject from the standpoint of host genetic basis and gut microbiota. Using the genome-wide association analysis and microbiome comparison analysis, with chicken death and survival following Salmonella pullorum infection as phenotypes, we identified significant genetic variations (e.g., MYH7, ATP2A3 , and CACNA1S ) and gut microbiota (e.g., Lactobacillus, Escherichia_Shigella, Bacillus , and Enterococcus_cecorum ) that may relate to susceptibility/resistance of pullorum disease. These results indicate that the infection of chickens with S. pulloru m and the achievement of vertical transmission may be related to the host genome and gut microbiota.