Bacillus licheniformis normalize the ileum microbiota of chickens infected with necrotic enteritis

Abstract

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a severe intestinal disease, which can change gut microbiota and result in a high cost for the poultry industry worldwide. However, little is known regarding how the gut microbiota of NE chicken ileum are changed by Bacillus licheniformis. This study was conducted to investigate how ileum microbiota structure was changed by B. licheniformis in broiler chickens challenged with Clostridium perfringens-induced NE through Illumina MiSeq sequencing. The broilers were randomly separated into four groups: the negative control group (NC), the positive control group (PC), the fishmeal and coccidia group (FC), and the PC group supplied with feed containing B. licheniformis (BL). Compared to the PC and FC, alpha diversity, beta diversity, and the bacterial taxa of the ileum microbiota were more similar in BL and NC. Some genera, which were related to the NE control, became insignificant in BL with NC, such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Bacteroides, Ruminococcus and Helicobacter. The PICRUSt analysis revealed that a tumour suppressor gene, p53, which was negatively correlated with Helicobacter, was enriched in the BL group. Our findings showed that the ileum microbiota disorder caused by NE in chickens was normalized by dietary B. licheniformis supplementation.Necrotic enteritis (NE) in chickens, which was first reported by Parish in 1961 1 , is a common illness caused by Clostridium perfringens 2 . There is increasing evidence that NE outbreaks in broiler chickens have a severe economic impact and globally cost over $2 billion annually in losses and disease control because of the high mortality rates and reduced growth performance 3 . NE not only causes economic losses but also results in illnesses in humans. NE in chickens can cause a threat to public health through the food chain by C. perfringens 4 . C. perfringens is a strictly anaerobic gram-positive bacterium, which can form spores. C. perfringens commonly presents in the intestinal tract of chickens but is not pathogenic and causes enterotoxaemia only under certain conditions. An experimental disease challenge trial showed that it is necessary to introduce induction factors, such as Eimeria co-infection and high protein feed supplementation (like fishmeal), to cause diseases 5,6 . Research on NE in chickens has been conducted for decades, but it is still one of the major challenges in the poultry industry. This is especially true since in-feed antibiotics have been banned in more and more countries 7 , and it is increasingly important to search for alternatives for the treatment of NE in chickens.Probiotics are "friendly" bacteria that help to maintain a normal balance in the intestinal tract by aiding normal digestion, supporting the immune system and promoting overall health 8 . They can likely prevent and treat disease effectively by mainly modulating mucosal immune activity and epithelial barrier function as a biological antagonist, which has already been proven through clinical trials for maintaining disease treatment 9 . In addition...

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