Bacterial enteritis in ostrich (Struthio Camelus) chicks in the Western Cape Province, South Africa

Keokilwe, L.; Olivier, Adriaan; Burger, Wilhelm; Joubert, Hilda Wilhelmina; Venter, Estelle Hildegard; Morar-Leather, Darshana

doi:10.3382/ps/pev084

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The chicks are highly precocial, allowing them to be raised independently from their parents, and they reach sexual maturity from 2 years of age. Ostriches also exhibit extremely large variation in offspring growth rate, even in controlled environments (Bonato, Evans, Hasselquist, Cloete, & Cherry, ; Deeming & Ayres, ; Engelbrecht, Cloete, Bunter, & van Wyk, ; Skadhauge & Dawson, ), and are known to suffer from bacterial gut infections (Keokilwe et al, ; Verwoerd, ). These traits make the ostrich an excellent organism for investigating host–microbiota associations, including the effects of gut microbiota on juvenile growth and development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major shifts in gut microbiota during development and its relationship to growth in ostriches

et al. 2019

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The development of gut microbiota during ontogeny is emerging as an important process influencing physiology, immunity and fitness in vertebrates. However, knowledge of how bacteria colonize the juvenile gut, how this is influenced by changes in the diversity of gut bacteria and to what extent this influences host fitness, particularly in nonmodel organisms, is lacking. Here we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to describe the successional development of the faecal microbiome in ostriches (Struthio camelus, n = 66, repeatedly sampled) over the first 3 months of life and its relationship to growth. We found a gradual increase in microbial diversity with age that involved multiple colonization and extinction events and a major taxonomic shift in bacteria that coincided with the cessation of yolk absorption. Comparisons with the microbiota of adults (n = 5) revealed that the chicks became more similar in their microbial diversity and composition to adults as they aged. There was a five‐fold difference in juvenile growth during development, and growth during the first week of age was strongly positively correlated with the abundance of the genus Bacteroides and negatively correlated with Akkermansia. After the first week, the abundances of six phylogenetically diverse families (Peptococcaceae, S24‐7, Verrucomicrobiae, Anaeroplasmataceae, Streptococcaceae, Methanobacteriaceae) were associated with subsequent reductions in chick growth in an age‐specific and transient manner. These results have broad implications for our understanding of the development of gut microbiota and its associations with animal growth.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major shifts in gut microbiota during development and its relationship to growth in ostriches

et al. 2019

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“…While the causes of mortality are mostly unknown, several candidate pathogens associated with enterocolitis have been reported, for example Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Klebsiella spp., and multiple Clostridium spp. [22][23][24][25][26]. However, whether variation in mortality is due to infection of specific pathogens or the result of microbiome dysbiosis has not yet been established.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, whether variation in mortality is due to infection of specific pathogens or the result of microbiome dysbiosis has not yet been established. The studies investigating causes of mortality in ostrich chicks have so far used bacterial culture or species-specific DNA primers [22][23][24][25][26]. These methods can be useful to detect the presence of targeted microorganisms, but searching for a particular culprit may yield ambiguous answers if pathobionts exist in the normal gut microbiota of the host and only exhibit pathogenic tendencies when the community is disturbed [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early-life gut dysbiosis linked to juvenile mortality in ostriches

et al. 2020

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Background Imbalances in the gut microbial community (dysbiosis) of vertebrates have been associated with several gastrointestinal and autoimmune diseases. However, it is unclear which taxa are associated with gut dysbiosis, and if particular gut regions or specific time periods during ontogeny are more susceptible. We also know very little of this process in non-model organisms, despite an increasing realization of the general importance of gut microbiota for health. Methods Here, we examine the changes that occur in the microbiome during dysbiosis in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract in a long-lived bird with high juvenile mortality, the ostrich (Struthio camelus). We evaluated the 16S rRNA gene composition of the ileum, cecum, and colon of 68 individuals that died of suspected enterocolitis during the first 3 months of life (diseased individuals), and of 50 healthy individuals that were euthanized as age-matched controls. We combined these data with longitudinal environmental and fecal sampling to identify potential sources of pathogenic bacteria and to unravel at which stage of development dysbiosis-associated bacteria emerge. Results Diseased individuals had drastically lower microbial alpha diversity and differed substantially in their microbial beta diversity from control individuals in all three regions of the gastrointestinal tract. The clear relationship between low diversity and disease was consistent across all ages in the ileum, but decreased with age in the cecum and colon. Several taxa were associated with mortality (Enterobacteriaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Clostridium), while others were associated with health (Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, Turicibacter, Roseburia). Environmental samples showed no evidence of dysbiosis-associated bacteria being present in either the food, water, or soil substrate. Instead, the repeated fecal sampling showed that pathobionts were already present shortly after hatching and proliferated in individuals with low microbial diversity, resulting in high mortality several weeks later. Conclusions Identifying the origins of pathobionts in neonates and the factors that subsequently influence the establishment of diverse gut microbiota may be key to understanding dysbiosis and host development.

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“…En Colombia, la especie se encuentra bien establecida en los departamentos del Meta, Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Cauca, Valle del Cauca y Quindío (6). A pesar de las medidas sanitarias para evitar el surgimiento de enfermedades en los avestruces, se ha reportado que algunos agentes infecciosos incluyendo virus, bacterias y parásitos gastrointestinales, continúan siendo un problema para los criadores de esta especie (7,8,9). Por este motivo, el objetivo de este trabajo fue identificar la presencia de parásitos gastrointestinales en un criadero de avestruces del departamento del Cauca.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Identificación de parásitos gastrointestinales en un criadero de avestruces (Struthio camelus) del departamento del Cauca

Campuzano¹,

Calderón²,

Muñoz³

et al. 2019

Rev Colombiana Cienc Anim. RECIA

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Los avestruces poseen características productivas que la hacen una especie atractiva para el mercado de carne y huevos, además de otros subproductos como plumas, grasas, y piel. En diferentes países del mundo, incluyendo a Colombia, la producción de esta especie está aumentando y para mantener su población en cautiverio se están tomando medidas preventivas contra enfermedades virales, bacterianas y parasitarias. El objetivo de este trabajo fueidentificar parásitos gastrointestinales en un criadero de avestruces del departamento del Cauca. Para el estudio, se colectó material coprológico de 38 animales, 19 adultos (> 7 años de edad), 9 Juveniles (1 año), 10 polluelos (1 mes), siendo enviado a 4 °C a un laboratorio donde fue procesado y examinado. Se identificaron quistes compatibles con Eimeria sp. (15,7%), Balantidium sp. (13,2%) y huevos compatibles con Libyostrongylus sp. (10,5%), no hubo correlación entre las edades y la carga parasitaria, así como, el sexo y la carga parasitaria. A pesar de que los animales muestreados no presentaron signos clínicos de enfermedad parasitaria, es necesario realizar más estudios para comprender ciclo biológico de estos parásitos en los avestruces de la región, en el presente trabajo se sugiere la presencia de Libyostrongylus sp., el cual ya ha sido reportado una vez en Colombia.

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Bacterial enteritis in ostrich (Struthio Camelus) chicks in the Western Cape Province, South Africa

Cited by 14 publications

References 21 publications

Major shifts in gut microbiota during development and its relationship to growth in ostriches

Major shifts in gut microbiota during development and its relationship to growth in ostriches

Early-life gut dysbiosis linked to juvenile mortality in ostriches

Identificación de parásitos gastrointestinales en un criadero de avestruces (Struthio camelus) del departamento del Cauca

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