Association of Broiler Litter Microbiome Composition and Campylobacter Isolation

Abstract

Infection with Campylobacter species is one of the leading causes of bacterial diarrhea in humans in the US. Chickens, which become colonized on the farm, are important reservoirs of this bacterium. Campylobacter can establish itself in the broiler house via a variety of sources, can survive in the litter of the house, and possibly persist over successive flock cycles. However, the role of the broiler litter microbiome on Campylobacter persistence is not clear. A matched case-control study was conducted to determine whether the broiler litter microbiome composition was associated with Campylobacter isolation within the broiler house. Flocks were classified as cases when either Campylobacter jejuni or Campylobacter coli was isolated in boot sock samples, or as controls otherwise. Case and control flocks were matched at the broiler house level. Composite broiler litter samples were collected and used for DNA extraction and 16S rRNA gene V4 region sequencing. Reads were processed using the DADA2 pipeline to obtain a table of amplicon sequence variants. Alpha diversity and differential bacterial relative abundance were used as predictors of Campylobacter isolation status in conditional logistic regression models adjusting for flock age and sampling season. Beta diversity distances were used as regressors in stratified PERMANOVA with Campylobacter isolation status as predictor, and broiler house as stratum. When Campylobacter was isolated in boot socks, broiler litter microbiome richness and evenness were lower and higher, respectively, without reaching statistical significance. Campylobacter isolation status significantly explained a small proportion of the beta diversity (genus-level Aitchison dissimilarity distance). Clostridium and Anaerostipes were positively associated with Campylobacter isolation status, whereas Bifidobacterium, Anaerosporobacter, and Stenotrophomonas were negatively associated. Our results suggest the presence of bacterial interactions between Campylobacter and the broiler litter microbiome. The negative association of Campylobacter with Bifidobacterium, Anaerosporobacter, and Stenotrophomonas in litter could be potentially exploited as a pre-harvest control strategy.

Broiler farming practices using new or re-used bedding, inclusive of free-range, have no impact on <i>Campylobacter</i> levels, species diversity, <i>Campylobacter</i> community profiles and <i>Campylobacter</i> bacteriophages

“…Slightly lower Campylobacter levels (log 6.2–6.7 /CFU/g) in the caeca have been reported for both organic and free-range chickens [81] . The Campylobacter in the litter microbiome and those in the bird gut can be representative of each other, given the fact that the major component of litter is feces [82] . Thus, rather than the litter (types), as represented by the four farming practices, the chicken (gut), as represented by the flock, appears to be the major influence of Campylobacter levels in the caeca.…”

Isolamento e caracterização de bactérias com potencial de promoção de crescimento vegetal a partir de cama de aviário

“…Staphylococcus. A composição bacteriana da cama de aviário parece estar correlacionada à microbiota intestinal das aves que habitam na granja (Bindari et al, 2021;Valeris-Chacin et al, 2021) além do fato de que, por apresentar alto pH (próximo a 9), ocorreria a restrição do crescimento de alguns grupos bacterianos, tornando a comunidade microbiana mais homogênea (Vaz Moreira et al, 2008).…”

Dietary Inclusion of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae-Derived Postbiotic Is Associated with Lower Salmonella enterica Burden in Broiler Chickens on a Commercial Farm in Honduras

“…In broiler and other poultry production, litter management practices, quality, and microbial composition are significant factors associated with pathogen status in flocks, particularly in regions where reuse may be a common practice. Litter microbiome analyses have demonstrated associations between the physicochemical characteristics of the litter, the abundance of specific taxa, the associated ability to isolate foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter , and the litter influence on gut colonization [ 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Specifically, for Salmonella , Machado and Hagerman [ 53 ] reported decreasing odds for the probability of detecting Salmonella in litter prior to harvest with successive litter reuses up to six rearing cycles, after which, however, the odds began to increase.…”