Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 affects health, growth, and fecal microbiota in milk-fed veal calves

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of one specific strain of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 (SCB), on the growth performance, health, and fecal bacterial profile of veal calves. A total of 84 animals were enrolled in an experiment at a commercial veal farm for a total of 7 wk. Calves were fed twice a day with a milk replacer meal during the entire experiment and were randomly assigned to receive daily either SCB supplementation (10 × 10 9 cfu/d) or a placebo (CON). Individual feed intake and body weight were monitored on a daily and weekly basis, respectively. Fecal samples were collected at arrival to the veal facility (wk 0) and additional samples were taken on d 14 (wk 2) and d 49 (wk 7). These samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing using Illumina MiSeq (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA) to examine the bacterial profiles and real-time quantitative PCR to quantify Saccharomyces cerevisiae and specific bacterial groups. The significant increase of S. cerevisiae in the feces of SCB calves at wk 2 and 7 compared with wk 0 (respectively 1.7 × 10 7 , 1.2 × 10 7 , and 2.2 × 10 5 copy number of S. cerevisiae/g of feces) indicates a good survival of that yeast strain along the gastrointestinal tract. Supplementation of SCB did not improve overall growth performance with regard to average daily gain (ADG), final body weight, and feed intake. Nevertheless, a total of 69.1% of nonsupplemented calves had diarrhea and 28.6% experienced severe diarrhea, whereas 50.0% of the calves supplemented with SCB had diarrhea and 9.5% experienced severe diarrhea. With respect to antibiotic use, 89.7% of the diarrheic calves recorded in the CON group were treated, whereas only 66.7% of the SCB diarrheic calves received an antibiotic. In addition, diarrheic calves supplemented with SCB maintained an ADG similar to nondiarrheic animals, whereas the CON diarrheic calves had a significantly lower ADG in comparison with nondiarrheic CON calves. Fecalibacterium was the most predominant bacterial genus in fecal samples of nondiarrheic and diarrheic calves supplemented with SCB, whereas fecal microbiota was predominated by Collinsella in diarrheic calves from the CON group. Live yeast supplementation in milk replacer led to a decrease of diarrhea in milk-fed veal calves and the fecal microbiota of diarrheic calves maintained a healthy community similar to nondiarrheic animals, with Fecalibacterium being the predominant genus.

Linking perturbations to temporal changes in diversity, stability, and compositions of neonatal calf gut microbiota: prediction of diarrhea

“…The animal experiment was conducted following the instructions of the Canadian Council of Animal Care and the experiment protocol was approved by the Livestock Care Committee of the University of Alberta (AUP00001595). The general appearance, fecal score, rectal temperature, umbilical score, and respiratory score were recorded as reported by Villot et al [ 17 ]. Briefly, a total of 84 calves were enrolled with 42 fed milk replacer (CON) and the other 42 fed milk replacer with Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii (SCB).…”

“…This is because at 7 days of age no Saccharomyces boulardii was supplemented to calves in SCB group. Considering that supplementing SCB effectively decreased the incidence of diarrhea (SCB, 50.0%, 21/42 vs. CON, 69.1%, 29/42) [ 17 ], we were not sure if healthy calves in SCB group could still be healthy if SCB had not been supplemented. Therefore, only 21 calves exhibiting diarrhea in SCB group were enrolled in the current study, as SCB is a nonpathogenic biotherapeutic agent [ 19 ] and it should not contribute to the incidence of diarrhea with the dosage supplemented.…”

Perspectives on the Management of Surplus Dairy Calves in the United States and Canada

“…The use of microbial-based feed additives could also play a role in improving the gut health of young calves [reviewed by (87)]. Specifically, yeast supplementation during the preweaning period has been associated with a reduced incidence and severity of diarrhea in male dairy calves and calves raised for veal (88,89), especially male calves with failed transfer of passive immunity (90). Supplementation with lactic acid bacteria has also been shown to reduce the risk of diarrhea [reviewed by (91)], particularly when male calves experienced high incidences of diarrhea (92,93).…”

Early supplementation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 in newborn dairy calves increases IgA production in the intestine at 1 week of age

“…Probiotics are live, nonpathogenic microorganisms that exert a beneficial influence on the health and physiology of the host. Recently, Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 (SCB) has led to a better ADG in male dairy calves after weaning (Renaud et al, 2019) and reductions in the incidence of severe diarrhea in milk-fed dairy calves (Villot et al, 2019) when supplemented daily. This probiotic is largely used in humans for the treatment of acute-infectious enteritis and antibiotic-induced gastrointestinal disorders (Doron et al, 2008;McFarland, 2010;Choi et al, 2011).…”