Pioneer colonizers: Bacteria that alter the chicken intestinal morphology and development of the microbiota

Abstract

Microbes commonly administered to chickens facilitate development of a beneficial microbiome that improves gut function, feed conversion and reduces pathogen colonization. Competitive exclusion products, derived from the cecal contents of hens and shown to reduce Salmonella colonization in chicks, possess important pioneer-colonizing bacteria needed for proper intestinal development and animal growth. We hypothesized that inoculation of these pioneer-colonizing bacteria to day of hatch chicks would enhance the development of their intestinal anatomy and microbiome. A competitive exclusion product was administered to broiler chickens, in their drinking water, at day of hatch, and its impact on intestinal morphometrics, intestinal microbiome, and production parameters, was assessed relative to a control, no treatment group. 16S rRNA gene, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) was used to assess ileal community composition. The competitive exclusion product, administered on day of hatch, increased villus height, villus height/width ratio and goblet cell production ∼1.25-fold and expression of enterocyte sugar transporters 1.25 to 1.5-fold in chickens at 3 days of age, compared to the control group. As a next step, chicks were inoculated with a defined formulation, containing Bacteroidia and Clostridia representing pioneer-colonizing bacteria of the two major bacterial phyla present in the competitive exclusion product. The defined formulation, containing both groups of bacteria, were shown, dependent on age, to improve villus height (jejunum: 1.14 to 1.46-fold; ileum: 1.17-fold), goblet cell numbers (ileum 1.32 to 2.51-fold), and feed efficiency (1.18-fold, day 1) while decreasing Lactobacillus ileal abundance by one-third to half in birds at 16 and 42 days of age, respectively; compared to the phosphate buffered saline treatment group. Therefore, specific probiotic formulations containing pioneer colonizing species can provide benefits in intestinal development, feed efficiency and body weight gain.

Isolation, molecular identification, and genomic analysis of Mangrovibacter phragmitis strain ASIOC01 from activated sludge harboring the bioremediation prowess of glycerol and organic pollutants in high-salinity

“…The MGBs account for 45.7, 35.9, and 74.9% of the overall microbiome abundance observed in sludges as mentioned earlier (Table 1). The present observation of a notably elevated prevalence of MGBs, particularly during the initial phases of AGS development, suggests that MGBs could potentially fulfill the role of primary colonizers (Lee et al, 2023a). MGBs might play a vital part in supporting the formation and modification of biofilms and modulating surface characteristics, hence facilitating the colonization of diverse species inside activated sludge (AS) systems.…”

Peeling back the many layers of competitive exclusion

“…Aviguard ® is a competitive exclusion product derived from the cecal contents of adult hens that has been shown to be effective at reducing Salmonella and other enteropathogens in the intestine of chickens ( Hofacre et al, 1998 , 2000 ; Weschka et al, 2021 ). This competitive exclusion product has also been shown to promote intestinal development in young chicks ( Lee et al, 2023a ). Undefined intestinal communities used as competitive exclusion products have been limited in their distribution or application by regulatory agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( Lee et al, 2023b ).…”