Muscle characteristics in chicks challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis and the effect of preventive application of the probiotic Enterococcus faecium

Abstract

The present study was conducted to assess the effects of the probiotic Enterococcus faecium AL41 ( EF ) and of the enteric pathogen Salmonella Enteritidis PT4 ( SE ) on the development of posthatch pectoralis major muscle ( PM ) of broiler chicks. The four experimental groups were control ( CON ), EF, SE, and EF + SE (EFSE). EF and SE were given per os from days 1 to 7 and at day 4 posthatch, respectively. Muscle samples from 6 chicks per group were taken at day 8 (D8) and day 11 (D11) to evaluate PM myofiber growth, capillarization, DNA, RNA, and protein content, as well as enzyme activities (isocitrate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase). PM growth rate was 7.45 ± 2.7 g/d in non-SE groups (CON, EF) and 5.10 ± 1.82 g/d in SE-infected groups ( P < 0.02). Compared with group CON, application of bacteria (groups EF and SE) reduced the fiber cross-sectional area (246 and 262 vs. 347 ± 19 μm 2 ) and the number of myonuclei per fiber (0.66 and 0.64 vs. 0.79 ± 0.03). At D11, hypertrophic myofiber growth normalized in the EF group, but negative effects persisted in SE and EFSE birds contributing to lower daily PM gain. In addition, SE infection strongly disturbed PM capillarization. Negative effects on capillary cross-sectional area and on the area (%) covered by capillaries persisted until D11 in the SE group, whereas pre-feeding of EF restored capillarization in the EFSE group to control levels. We conclude that supplementation of the probiotic bacteria EF AL41 had positive effects on PM capillarization and, thus, on delivery of O 2 , supply of nutrients, and removal of metabolites. Supplementation of probiotic bacteria might therefore reduce energetic stress and improve muscle health and meat quality during SE infection.

The Changes in Microbiotic Composition of Different Intestinal Tracts and the Effects of Supplemented Lactobacillus During the Formation of Goose Fatty Liver

“…The study also revealed the dominant genera of intestinal bacteria in Landes geese, which included Phyllobacterium, Bacteroides, Helicobacter, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus , and Romboutsia . Most of the dominant genera of bacteria (e.g., Bacteroides, Lactobacillus , and Enterococcus ) are probiotics, which remain relatively abundant for the maintenance of intestinal health (Nazila et al, 2014 ; Zitnan et al, 2019 ; Vernay et al, 2020 ). The relative abundance of dominant genera is not only related to their location in the intestinal tract and the duration of feeding, but also to the effect of overfeeding.…”

Effects of Oral Glutamine Supplementation on Early Postnatal Muscle Morphology in Low and Normal Birth Weight Piglets

“…An Olympus BX43 microscope (Olympus, Hamburg, Germany) equipped with a UC30 color camera and CellˆD imaging software (OSIS, Münster, Germany) was used to analyze intramyocellular lipid droplets, intramuscular adipocyte size, muscle fiber size, capillary size and density, as well as nuclei number. Respective self-made macro programs within the CellˆD software (OSIS, Münster, Germany) were used as described by Zitnan [29] and Dahl [30]. For analysis of intramyocellular lipid droplets, at least five randomly selected regions were analyzed for each piglet, accounting for a total area of about 0.75 mm 2 .…”

Influence of Lacto-Immuno-Vital on growth performance and gene expression of IgA, MUC-2, and growth factor IGF-2 in the jejunum of broiler chickens

“…In our experiment, Lacto-Immuno-Vital was administered from the first day. The first wk after hatching is crucial for broilers' pectoralis major muscle development ( Halevy et al., 2000 ; Žitňan et al., 2019 ). Malnutrition or enteral infection during this period can have irreversible negative effects on growth performance ( Dina and Hams, 2016 ).…”