Bacillus subtilis PS-216 Spores Supplemented in Broiler Chicken Drinking Water Reduce Campylobacter jejuni Colonization and Increases Weight Gain

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis, or campylobacteriosis, in humans worldwide, and poultry serves as a major source of infection. To reduce the risk associated with C. jejuni transmission via poultry meat, effective interventions during poultry production are needed, and the use of probiotics is a promising approach. In this study, 15 Bacillus subtilis strains were initially screened for their anti-Campylobacter activities. B. subtilis PS-216 strain demonstrated the best anti-Campylobacter activity against 15 C. jejuni isolates when examined using in vitro co-cultures. To evaluate the suitability of B. subtilis PS-216 for probiotic use, its susceptibility to eight clinically important antimicrobials and simulated gastric conditions was investigated. B. subtilis PS-216 was sensitive to all of the tested antibiotics. Although vegetative cells were sensitive to gastric conditions, B. subtilis PS-216 spores were highly resistant. We further evaluated the use of a B. subtilis PS-216 spore preparation (2.5 × 106 CFU/mL water) to prevent and/or reduce C. jejuni colonization in broiler chickens in vivo. Compared to the untreated group, significantly lower Campylobacter counts were detected in caeca of broilers continuously treated with B. subtilis PS-216 spores in their drinking water. Furthermore, broilers continuously treated with B. subtilis PS-216 spores showed improved weight gain, compared to the control group. Together, these results demonstrate the potential of B. subtilis PS-216 for use in poultry to reduce C. jejuni colonization and improve weight gain.

Differential effects of Bacillus subtilis– and Bacillus licheniformis–fermented products on growth performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal antioxidant and barrier function gene expression, cecal microbiota community, and microbial carbohydrate-active enzyme composition in broilers

“…It has been reported that dietary supplementation with Bacillus sp.-based probiotics has positive effects on the modulation of intestinal microbiota in broilers ( Luise et al, 2022 ). B. subtilis supplementation increases the abundance of beneficial bacteria and decreases the abundance of pathogens in broiler intestines ( Bilal et al, 2021 ; Šimunović et al, 2022 ). Dietary supplementation with B. licheniformis promotes Lactobacillus sp.…”

Growth performance, organs weight, intestinal histomorphology, and oocyst shedding in broiler chickens offered novel single strain Bacillus subtilis isolated from camel dung and challenged with Eimeria

“…B. subtilis B2A isolated from soil and selected due to its inhibition of Salmonella typhimurium had no effect on growth in broiler chickens but lowered FI and improved FCR in linear fashion up to 1.0 × 10 6 CFU/g feed ( Park and Kim, 2014 ). Increased growth was reported by Šimunović et al (2022) , in birds provided with B. subtilis PS-216 at 2.5 × 10 6 CFU/mL in the drinking water for 8 or 21 d. Thus, two phylogenetically distinct B. subtilis strains can have differing abilities to improve growth performance across different genetic breeds and rearing conditions ( Rhayat et al, 2017 ). Conversely, adverse reports of B. subtilis on broiler chicken growth performance have been reported.…”

“…Differences in the ability of B. subtilis strains to improve broiler growth performance may be due to differences in the dose given, method of administration (i.e., formulated in feed vs . added to drinking water), length of administration, experimental design, the intrinsic probiotic properties of the strains (i.e., production of enzymes, AMP) and their ability to colonize the GIT ( Park and Kim, 2014 ; Rhayat et al, 2017 ; Wang et al, 2018 ; Šimunović et al, 2022 ). There are differing reports in the literature regarding the potential of B. subtilis BSDFM products to mitigate the adverse effects of an Eimeria challenge.…”

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Reduces Campylobacter jejuni Colonization in Young Broiler Chickens Challenged by Oral Gavage but Not by Seeder Birds

“…Multiple Lactobacillus species, including L. salivarius, L. reuteri, L. plantarum, and L. agilis, were reported to have the ability to produce bacteriocins or organic acids and significantly reduced Campylobacter colonization in broilers under experimental settings [32,35,36]. Likewise, Bacillus subtilis PS-216 was shown to have potent anti-Campylobacter activity in vitro and significantly lowered Campylobacter colonization in the ceca of broiler chickens when continuously supplemented in their drinking water in a recent experiment [37]. Collectively, these studies strongly suggest that a microbiota-based intervention may be a feasible strategy for preharvest control of Campylobacter in poultry.…”

“…In contrast to these promising results, many other studies found no significant effect of a wide range of preharvest intervention approaches on Campylobacter colonization in live birds. These include studies on plant-derived compounds, probiotics, and numerous types of vaccines (34,35,36,37,38). Collectively, the findings from the multiple investigations described above clearly indicate the large discrepancies in the effectiveness of different non-biosecurity-based preharvest intervention methods on Campylobacter colonization in chickens and thus point out the need for additional research in order to develop successful and efficient mitigation strategies against Campylobacter in poultry.…”