Dataset Information

Effects of Subchronic Copper Poisoning on Cecal Histology and Its Microflora in Chickens.

ABSTRACT: Copper (Cu) is an important trace element with a two-sided effect on the growth performance of animals, which depends on the timing and dosage of Cu addition, etc. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of oral copper sulfate (CuSO₄, 350 ppm) on growth performance, cecal morphology, and its microflora of chickens (n = 60) after 30, 60, and 90 days. The results showed that after 90 days of copper exposure, the chickens lost weight, the cecum mucosa was detached, and vacuolation and inflammatory infiltration occurred at the base of the lamina propria. In addition, using the 16S rDNA sequencing method, we observed that copper exposure changed the richness and diversity of intestinal microorganisms. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria both significantly increased, while Bacteroidetes significantly decreased in the Cu group compared with control check (CK) group. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group decreased significantly, while Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, Lachnoclostridium, and [Eubacterium]_coprostanoligenes_group increased significantly after copper exposure, and the change in microflora was most significant at 90 days. Moreover, the relevance of genus-level bacteria was altered. PICRUST analysis revealed potential metabolic changes associated with copper exposure, such as Staphylococcus aureus infection and metabolic disorders of nutrients. To sum up, these data show that subchronic copper exposure not only affects the growth and development of chickens but also causes the imbalance of intestinal microflora, which may further induce metabolic disorders in chickens.

SUBMITTER: Huang C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8456085 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundInterest in the use of natural feed additives as an alternative to antimicrobials in the poultry industry has increased in recent years because of the risk of bacterial resistance. One of the most studied groups are polyphenolic compounds, given their advantages over other types of additives and their easy potentiation of effects when complexes are formed with metal ions. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of dietary supplementation of copper acetate (CA), curcumin (CR), and their combination (CA-CR) against Salmonella Typhimurium colonization, intestinal permeability, and cecal microbiota composition in broiler chickens through a laboratory Salmonella infection model. S. Typhimurium recovery was determined on day 10 post-challenge by isolating Salmonella in homogenates of the right cecal tonsil (12 chickens per group) on Xylose Lysine Tergitol-4 (XLT-4) with novobiocin and nalidixic acid. Intestinal integrity was indirectly determined by the fluorometric measurement of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-d) in serum samples from blood obtained on d 10 post-S. Typhimurium challenge. Finally, microbiota analysis was performed using the content of the left caecal tonsil of 5 chickens per group by sequencing V4 region of 16S rRNA gene.ResultsThe results showed that in two independent studies, all experimental treatments were able to significantly reduce the S. Typhimurium colonization in cecal tonsils (CT, P < 0.0001) compared to the positive control (PC) group. However, only CA-CR was the most effective treatment in reducing S. Typhimurium counts in both independent studies. Furthermore, the serum fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-d) concentration in chickens treated with CR was significantly lower when compared to PC (P = 0.0084), which is related to a decrease in intestinal permeability and therefore intestinal integrity. The effect of dietary treatments in reducing Salmonella was further supported by the analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences using Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) since Salmonella was significantly enriched in PC group (LDA score > 2.0 and P < 0.05) compared to other groups. In addition, Coprobacillus, Eubacterium, and Clostridium were significantly higher in the PC group compared to other treatment groups. On the contrary, Fecalibacterium and Enterococcus in CR, unknown genus of Erysipelotrichaceae at CA-CR, and unknown genus of Lachnospiraceae at CA were significantly more abundant respectively.ConclusionsCR treatment was the most effective treatment to reduce S. Typhimurium intestinal colonization and maintain better intestinal homeostasis which might be achieved through modulation of cecal microbiota.

Project description:The concept of successional trajectories describes how small differences in initial community composition can magnify through time and lead to significant differences in mature communities. For many animals, the types and sources of early-life exposures to microbes have been shown to have significant and long-lasting effects on the community structure and/or function of the microbiome. In modern commercial poultry production, chicks are reared as a single age cohort and do not directly encounter adult birds. This scenario is likely to initiate a trajectory of microbial community development that is significantly different than non-industrial settings where chicks are exposed to a much broader range of environmental and fecal inocula; however, the comparative effects of these two scenarios on microbiome development and function remain largely unknown. In this work, we performed serial transfers of cecal material through multiple generations of birds to first determine if serial transfers exploiting the ceca in vivo, rather than the external environment or artificial incubations, can produce a stable microbial community. Subsequently, we compared microbiome development between chicks receiving this passaged, i.e. host-selected, cecal material orally, versus an environmental inoculum, to test the hypothesis that the first exposure of newly hatched chicks to microbes determines early GI microbiome structure and may have longer-lasting effects on bird health and development. Cecal microbiome dynamics and bird weights were tracked for a two-week period, with half of the birds in each treatment group exposed to a pathogen challenge at 7 days of age. We report that: i) a relatively stable community was derived after a single passage of transplanted cecal material, ii) this cecal inoculum significantly but ephemerally altered community structure relative to the environmental inoculum and PBS controls, and iii) either microbiome transplant administered at day-of-hatch appeared to have some protective effects against pathogen challenge relative to uninoculated controls. Differentially abundant taxa identified across treatment types may inform future studies aimed at identifying strains associated with beneficial phenotypes.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Apicomplexan protozoans of the genus Eimeria cause coccidiosis, one of the most economically relevant parasitic diseases in chickens. The lack of a complete understanding of molecular mechanisms in the host-parasite interaction limits the development of effective control measures. In the present study, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was applied to investigate the host mRNA profiles of the cecal mucosa collected at day 5 post-infection with Eimeria maxima (EM). RESULTS:Total RNA from cecal samples of the uninfected naïve control and the EM groups was used to make libraries, generating 354,924,372 and 356,229,250 usable reads, respectively, which were assembled into a total of 386,088 high-quality unigenes (transcripts) in Trinity software. RNA-Seq analysis of cecal samples in the two groups revealed 332 upregulated and 363 downregulated genes with significant differences (P ≤ 0.05), including several significant immune-related gene families, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I alpha chain, granzyme A and immunoglobulin subtype genes among upregulated differentially expressed genes. In addition, a total of 60 clusters of differentiation (CD) molecular genes and 570 novel genes were found. The completeness of the assembled transcriptome was further assessed using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database, Gene ontology (GO), eggNOG and CAZy for gene annotation. The broad gene categories represented by the highly differentiated host genes suggested enrichment in immune responses, and downregulation in the metabolic pathway, MARK signaling pathway, vascular smooth muscle contraction, and proteins processing in endoplasmic reticulum after EM infection. CONCLUSIONS:Eimeria maxima induced statistically significant differences in the cecal mucosal gene expression of infected chickens. These findings provide new insights into the host-parasite interaction and enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of avian coccidiosis.

Project description:This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of quercetin on the antioxidant ability, intestinal barrier functions, and cecal microbiota in broiler chickens fed with oxidized soya oil. Four hundred eighty male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly assigned to 5 treatments, each involving 8 cages (12 birds per cage). The treatment groups were as follows: the control group, birds fed with basal diets containing oxidized oil, and birds fed with basal diets containing oxidized oil and supplemented with 200 ppm of quercetin, 400 ppm of quercetin, and 800 ppm of quercetin. The results showed that dietary supplementation with quercetin at a dose of 400 ppm or 800 ppm alleviated the increased serum malondialdehyde (MDA) level induced by oxidized oil on day 11 (P = 0.005) and reversed the increased MDA level in the mucosa on day 11 (P = 0.021). Quercetin significantly upregulated the transcription of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its downstream genes such as catalase (P < 0.001), superoxide dismutase 1 (P < 0.001), glutathione peroxidase 2 (P = 0.018), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) (P = 0.0), and thioredoxin (P = 0.002) and reversed the mRNA expression of HO-1 (P = 0.007) in the ileal mucosa. Tight junction protein 1 was only downregulated by oxidized oil (P = 0.013). In addition, quercetin (800 ppm) alleviated the decreased mRNA expression of mucin 2 (MUC2), which contributed to the intestinal chemical barrier (P = 0.039). The supplemental dose of 400 ppm of quercetin was able to promote Lactobacillus in the cecum, which enhanced the gastrointestinal tract health. In summary, these results indicated that quercetin ameliorated the oxidized oil-induced oxidative stress by upregulating the transcription of Nrf2 and its downstream genes to restore redox balance and reinforced the intestinal barrier via higher expression and secretion of MUC2 and facilitating the growth of Lactobacillus in the cecum. Therefore, quercetin could be a potential feed additive that can be applied in poultry production for amelioration of oxidative stress caused by oxidized oil and preventing the potential invasion of exogenous pathogens.

Dataset Information

Effects of Subchronic Copper Poisoning on Cecal Histology and Its Microflora in Chickens.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets