Intestinal Microbial Ecology of Broilers Vaccinated and Challenged With Mixed Eimeria Species, and Supplemented with Essential Oil Blends

Abstract

Intestinal microbiota is an important component in the development of defense mechanisms in the gut mucosa. This project determined the dynamics of intestinal microbial communities (MC) of broilers vaccinated at first day of age with live oocysts of Eimeria species and fed diets supplemented with 2 specific essential oil (EO) blends, Crina Poultry (CP) and Crina Alternate (CA). Five treatments were analyzed: 1) unmedicated-uninfected (UU) control; 2) unmedicated-infected (UI) control; 3) vaccinated with Advent cocci-vaccine and without feed additive (COV) supplements; 4) vaccinated with Advent and supplemented with CP; and 5) vaccinated with Advent and supplemented with CA. The EO blends were added at 100 ppm to the same basal diets. Chicks were gavage-infected at 19 d of age with Eimeria acervulina, Eimeria maxima, and Eimeria tenella. Duodenal, ileal, and cecal samples were taken from 12 birds per treatment just before the infection and 7 d after the challenge, pooled in 6 samples, and frozen. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to examine PCR-amplified fragments of the bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA variable region. Results are presented as percentages of similarity coefficients (SC). Dendrograms of amplicon patterns indicated MC differences due to intestinal location, feed additives, and cocci infection. The EO blends CP and CA did affect MC in all gut sections. The cocci-infection caused drastic MC population shifts in duodenal, ileal, and cecal sections (36.7, 55.4, and 36.2% SC, respectively). The CP-supplemented birds had higher SC between pre- and postchallenge MC in duodenal and ileal (73.3, 81.8%) than COV (66.4, 66.5%). However, COV broilers had the smallest changes in cecal MC after infection (79.5% SC). We concluded that cocci-vaccination causes small changes in intestinal MC, but challenge causes drastic shifts. The EO blend supplementation modulates MC in cocci-vaccinated broilers, avoiding drastic shifts after a mixed coccidia infection. Correlations between MC dynamics and host responses are discussed.

Molecular Identification and Characterization of Ileal and Cecal Fungus Communities in Broilers Given Probiotics, Specific Essential Oil Blends, and Under MixedEimeriaInfection

“…duodenum. Mucosal lesions indicated changes in intestinal physiology that can be linked to reduction in diversity and number of fungal populations as they were observed in bacterial populations in other studies (Hume et al, , 2011Oviedo-Rondó n et al, 2006).…”

“…Sample DNA assayed in the current study was collected during a related study in which we examined the impact of Eimeria infection and treatment with two commercial probiotics and two essential oil blends (EO) to minimize this impact on ileal and cecal bacterial populations (Hume et al, 2011). Mixed Eimeria infection was selected as a model to study intestinal modifications caused by a common pathogen that can cause profound changes in intestinal microbial communities (Hume et al, , 2011Oviedo-Rondó n et al, 2006). Coccidiosis is one of the most endemic enteric diseases in broiler production (Dalloul and Lillehoj, 2005).…”

Efficacy of turmeric (Curcuma longa) and garlic (Allium sativum) on Eimeria species in broilers

“…The use of natural products as an alternative to drugs may be the best solution to this consumer demand. Many studies have reported the in vivo efficiency of natural plant extracts in the treatment of coccidiosis [14], [15], and [16]. Garlic (Allium sativum) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) were widely used to cure and prevent diseases in human beings [17,18].…”

Salinomicina e semduramicina associadas em diferentes concentraÇões no controle da eimeriose em frangos de corte

“…A utilização de inóculo misto busca simular condições de campo e possibilita praticidade na inoculação, podendo-se, nessa modalidade de inoculação, avaliar o escore de lesões de cada espécie, escore médio de lesões e contagem de oocistos (HUME et al, 2006;OVIEDO-RONDÓN et al, 2006a;OVIEDO-RONDÓN et al, 2006b;PARKER et al, 2007). A avaliação do escore médio de lesões demonstrou uma diferença significativa para os tratamentos com níveis de 15 ppm de SEM (T3 e T5), os quais obtiveram menores escores médios de Tabela 4.…”