Analysis of gut microbiota and the effect of lauric acid against necrotic enteritis in Clostridium perfringens and Eimeria side-by-side challenge model

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 5; p. e0205784
• Main Authors: Yang, Wen-Yuan, Lee, Yuejia, Lu, Hsinyi, Chou, Chung-Hsi, Wang, Chinling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 31.05.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Abundance; Animal Feed; Animals; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Bacteria; Biodiversity; Biology and Life Sciences; Campylobacter; Cecum; Chickens; Clostridium; Clostridium Infections - complications; Clostridium Infections - microbiology; Clostridium Infections - veterinary; Clostridium perfringens; Coccidiosis - complications; Coccidiosis - microbiology; Coccidiosis - veterinary; Concurrent infection; Diet - veterinary; Dietary Supplements; Digestive system; Digestive tract; Disease; Eimeria; Enteritis; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - microbiology; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - prevention & control; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - veterinary; Escherichia; Fatty acids; Feeds; Female; Fish meal; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Gene expression; Immunity; Infections; Intestinal microflora; Intestine; Jejunum; Laboratory animals; Lactobacillus; Lauric acid; Lauric Acids - pharmacology; Lauric Acids - therapeutic use; Lesions; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Microbial activity; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Mortality; Nutrition; Poultry; Poultry Diseases - microbiology; Poultry Diseases - parasitology; Poultry Diseases - prevention & control; Reduction; Relative abundance; Shigella; Species diversity; Triglycerides; Veterinary colleges; Veterinary medicine; United States > US; Mississippi
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205784

Gut microbiota has been demonstrated to be involved in intestinal nutrition, defense, and immunity, as well as participating in disease progression. This study was to investigate gut microbiota changes in chickens challenged with netB-positive Clostridium perfringens strain (CP1) and/or the predisposing Eimeria species (Eimeria) and fed diets with fishmeal supplementation. In addition, the effects of lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA), on necrotic enteritis (NE) reduction and modulation of microbiota were evaluated. The results demonstrated that microbial communities in the jejunum were distinct from those in the cecum, and the microbial community change was more significant in jejunum. Challenge of CP1 in conjunction with Eimeria significantly reduced species diversity in jejunal microbiota, but cecal microbiota remained stable. In the jejunum, CP1 challenge increased the abundance of the genera of Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Escherichia Shigella, and Weissella, but significantly decreased the population of Lactobacillus. Eimeria infection on its own was unable to promote NE, demonstrating decrements of Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Lactobacillus. Co-infection with CP1 and Eimeria reproduced the majority of NE lesions with significant increment of Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and reduction in Lactobacillus. The advance of changes on these two taxa increased the severity of NE lesions. Further analyses of metagenomeSeq, STAMP, and LEfSe consistently showed significant overgrowth of Clostridium sensu stricto 1 was associated with NE. The supplementation of lauric acid did not reduce NE incidence and severity but decreased the relative abundance of Escherichia Shigella. In conclusion, significant overgrowth of C. perfringens as well as other Clostridium species in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 with the decrement of Lactobacillus in the jejunum is the featured microbiota correlated with NE. Controlling proliferation of Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and manipulation of Lactobacillus in the jejunum should be the strategy to prevent NE.