Porcine deltacoronavirus infection alters bacterial communities in the colon and feces of neonatal piglets

Abstract

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a novel enteropathogenic coronavirus that causes watery diarrhea in piglets. Little is known regarding the alteration of the gut microbiota in PDCoV‐induced diarrhea piglets. In this study, 5‐day‐old piglets were experimentally infected with PDCoV strain CH‐01, and all piglets developed typical clinical disease, characterized by acute and severe watery diarrhea. Histologic lesions were limited to the villous epithelium of the duodenum and ileum. Gut microbiota profiles in the colon and feces of piglets inoculated with PDCoV were investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing. The results showed that PDCoV infection reduced bacterial diversity and significantly altered the composition of the microbiota from the phylum to the genus level in the colon and feces of piglets. Firmicutes (phylum), Lactobacillaceae (family), and Lactobacillus (genus) were significantly increased ( p < .01), while the abundance of Bacteroidetes (phylum) was markedly reduced in the colon and feces of the PDCoV‐infected piglets ( p < .01) when compared to those of the healthy piglets. Furthermore, microbial function prediction indicated that the changes in the intestinal flora also affected the nucleotide transport and metabolism, defense, translation, and transcription function of the intestinal microbiota. The current study provides new insight into the pathology and physiology of PDCoV.

The lung–gut axis during viral respiratory infections: the impact of gut dysbiosis on secondary disease outcomes

“…Surprisingly, few studies have addressed the impact of coronavirus infection on the gut microbiota and most of them focused on chicken and pig models (induction of microbial imbalance). 65 – 69 Recent studies have reported the impact of a SARS-CoV-2 infection on the gut microbiota in humans. 52 , 70 – 73 Briefly, SARS-CoV-2 infection lowered the abundance of butyrate producers such as several genera from the Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae ( Roseburia ) families.…”

Bacterial and Viral Co-Infection in the Intestine: Competition Scenario and Their Effect on Host Immunity

“…Compared to RV and NoV infections alone, EPEC and EAEC co-infections aggravate the frequency of diarrhea and vomiting [13]. Co-infections lead to altered intestinal flora abundance, decreased intestinal microbial diversity, and increased intestinal flora disorders [14,15], such as accomplished with a higher abundance of Clostridiaceae and Streptococcaceae within the gut, the microbiota can interact directly with epithelial cells, leading to a series of events in the process of inflammatory [13]. In contrast, Sabrina J. Moyo et al analyzed stool samples from 723 children with diarrhea in Tanzania and found that co-infections frequently occur in diarrhea, but that the pathogenicity of one pathogen is sometimes enhanced by co-infection and diminished by others, with no effect of co-infection on the severity of diarrhea [16].…”

Characterization of the Cross-Species Transmission Potential for Porcine Deltacoronaviruses Expressing Sparrow Coronavirus Spike Protein in Commercial Poultry

“…Age is a noted factor in CoV pathology including with COVID-19 [55,56]. From this and other published studies there appears to be a window of 2-6 days in ovo, followed by days 11-24 post hatch in which poults are more susceptible to detectable infection [25,38,57]. Further infection studies with varied ages are needed to assess the ages in which chicks and poults are most susceptible to PDCoV infection.…”