Microbiomics Revealed the Disturbance of Intestinal Balance in Rabbits with Diarrhea Caused by Stopping the Use of an Antibiotic Diet

Abstract

The harmful effects of diarrhea on the growth performance of rabbits have been well documented, but the details of the potential mechanism of intestinal diarrhea when antibiotics are stopped are still unclear. Here, PacBio sequencing technology was used to sequence the full length 16S rRNA gene of the microbiota of intestinal content samples, in order to characterize the bacterial communities in the small intestine (duodenum and jejunum) and large intestine (colon and cecum) in normal Hyplus rabbits and those with diarrhea. The histopathological examination showed that intestinal necrosis occurred in different degrees in the diarrhea group, and that the mucosal epithelium was shed and necrotic, forming erosion, and the clinical manifestation was necrosis. However, the intestinal tissue structure of the normal group was normal. The results revealed that there were significant differences in bacterial communities and structure between the diarrhea and normal groups of four intestinal segments (p < 0.05). In general, 16 bacterial phyla, 144 bacterial genera and 22 metabolic pathways were identified in the two groups. Tax4Fun functional prediction analysis showed that KEGG related to amino acid metabolism and energy metabolism was enriched in the large intestines of rabbits with diarrhea, whereas lipid metabolism was more abundant in the small intestine of rabbits with diarrhea. In conclusion, the change in the relative abundance of the identified dominant microbiota, which could deplete key anti-inflammatory metabolites and lead to bacterial imbalance and diarrhea, resulted in diarrhea in Hyplus rabbits that stopped using antibiotics.

Investigation of Intestinal Bacteria-binding Monoclonal Antibodies Derived from Rabbit Single B Cells

“…Other phyla, such as Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria, and Euryarchaeota were found in relatively small abundance but still contributed to shaping the diversity and stability of the microbial community in the rabbit cecum. Although the number of phyla detected in this study was fewer than in the results of a previous study [28], our data confirmed that Bacteroides is a part of the rabbit intestinal microbiota. BSA (Fig.…”

Diversity and Co-Occurrence Pattern Analysis of Cecal and Jejunal Microbiota in Two Rabbit Breeds

“…This could be attributed to the fact that cecum is the richest and most diverse microbial community in the rabbit gut [14,60]. The significantly different carbohydrates and lipid metabolic activity between the cecum and jejunum we observed could be due to the difference in microbial communities and their capacity to ferment to obtain metabolic energy [9].…”

“…The abundance of the Escherichia-Shigella genus in the cecum of NM breed rabbits was positively correlated to body weight gain, as were Enterococcus and both body weight at 12 weeks and body weight gain in the jejunum of the same animals. Escherichia-Shigella should be considered a pathogen in hosts [9]; meanwhile, Enterococcus could be considered a beneficial bacteria that could produce bacteriocins active against bacteria such as Listeria and indigenous clostridia in the gut of rabbits [58]. On the other hand, in the cecum of the GF rabbits, there were significant correlations between Lactobacillus and both the body weight at 12 weeks and the body weight gain.…”

“…In recent decades, the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, such as 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) amplicon sequencing, has reduced execution costs and facilitated knowledge of the microbiota composition of the different organs of the gastrointestinal tract (stomach, small, and large intestine) in various animal species such as pigs [6], poultry [7], and horses [8]. Also, 16S rRNA sequencing can be used to study the changes induced by managerial, environmental, and individual factors in microbial populations [9][10][11]. Recently, this technology has also been used in domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that are monogastric, hindgut-fermenting herbivores and rely on cecotrophy.…”

Biliary excretion and pharmacokinetics of several fluoroquinolones after intravenous injection in rabbits

“…Rabbits have a unique digestive system that relies on a complex interplay of microorganisms in the cecum and colon to digest and absorb nutrients from their food. Disruption of this delicate balance can lead to overgrowth of harmful bacteria, such as Clostridium spp., and can result in diarrhea, enteritis, and even death [ 29 , 41 ]. Antibiotics that are excreted through bile can have a prolonged effect on the gastrointestinal microbiota, leading to dysbiosis even after the antibiotic has been discontinued.…”