Dietary l-arginine Supplementation Alleviates the Intestinal Injury and Modulates the Gut Microbiota in Broiler Chickens Challenged by Clostridium perfringens

Abstract

Our previous reports suggested that Dietary l-arginine supplementation attenuated gut injury of broiler chickens infected with Clostridium perfringens by enhancing intestinal immune responses, absorption and barrier function, but its effect on the gut microbiome of broiler chickens remains unclear. This experiment aimed at evaluating the effects of Dietary l-arginine supplementation on the gut bacterial community composition and function of broiler chickens challenged with C. perfringens. In total, 105 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chickens were assigned to three groups: Control (CTL), C. perfringens-challenged (CP), and C. perfringens-challenged and fed diet supplemented with 0.3% l-arginine (ARGCP) groups. The challenge led to macroscopic and histomorphological gut lesions, decreased villus height and increased the number of Observed species, Shannon, Chao1 and ACE indices of ileal microbiota, whereas l-arginine addition reversed these changes. Moreover, the three treatments harbored distinct microbial communities (ANOSIM, P < 0.05). At the genus level, 24 taxa (e.g., Nitrosomonas spp., Coxiella spp., Ruegeria spp., and Thauera spp.) were significantly more abundant in CP group than in CTL group (P < 0.05), whereas the levels of 23 genera of them were significantly decreased by l-arginine supplementation (P < 0.05). The abundances of only 3 genera were different between CTL and ARGCP groups (P < 0.05). At the species level, the challenge promoted the relative abundance of Nitrospira sp. enrichment culture clone M1-9, Bradyrhizobium elkanii, Nitrospira bacterium SG8-3, and Pseudomonas veronii, which was reversed by l-arginine supplementation (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the challenge decreased the levels of Lactobacillus gasseri (P < 0.05). Predictive functional profiling of microbial communities by PICRUSt showed that compared with CP group, ARGCP group had enriched pathways relating to membrane transport, replication and repair, translation and nucleotide metabolism and suppressed functions corresponding to amino acid and lipid metabolisms (P < 0.05). The relative abundances of KEGG pathways in l-arginine-fed broilers were almost equal to those of the controls. In conclusion, l-arginine alleviated the gut injury and normalized the ileal microbiota of C. perfringens-challenged chickens to resemble that of unchallenged controls in terms of microbial composition and functionality.

Influence of meat and bone meal, phytase, and antibiotics on broiler chickens challenged with subclinical necrotic enteritis: 2. intestinal permeability, organ weights, hematology, intestinal morphology, and jejunal gene expression

“…(2015) had reported in 21-day-old chickens infected with Campylobacter jejuni . A similar observation was also reported by Zhang et al. (2018) .…”

The effect of different dietary ratios of lysine and arginine in diets with high or low methionine levels on oxidative and epigenetic DNA damage, the gene expression of tight junction proteins and selected metabolic parameters in Clostridium perfringens-challenged turkeys

“…In turkeys, necrotic enteritis (NE) is caused by Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) anaerobic bacteria and their toxins, and it causes considerable economic losses in poultry farming [1]. In a post-mortem analysis, the disease manifests by strong inflammation and necrosis of the intestinal mucosa, which impairs nutrient absorption, weakens immune and antioxidant systems and, consequently, compromises growth performance and increases bird mortality [2][3][4]. Pathological changes associated with NE are also observed in parenchymal organs such as the liver, which can disrupt many biochemical processes.…”

“…Tan et al [14,22] found that diets supplemented with Arg minimize the damage to intestinal villi and crypts caused by coccidiosis in broiler chickens. Zhang et al [3] demonstrated that higher levels of l-arginine in the diet improved intestinal barrier integrity and modulated gut microflora in chickens challenged with C. perfringens, producing a consortium that was like to that of healthy controls with higher counts of beneficial bacteria and reduced counts of harmful species. According to Zhang et al [16], Arg protects the intestinal mucosa by stimulating non-specific immunity, improving intestinal absorption and inhibiting C. perfringens colonization in broilers with inflammatory bowel disease.…”

Chlortetracycline promotes differentiation of intestinal bacterial community in broiler chicken

“…Many factors influence the composition of gut microbiota, such as host genetics [26], diet [27], medical treatment [28], and rearing conditions [29]. The previous studies had demonstrated the effects of diet [30], feed additive [31] on the gastrointestinal microbiota. Here we defined effects of in-feed chlortetracycline on chicken fecal community diversity and richness.…”