Modelling effects of phytobiotic administration on coherent responses to Salmonella infection in laying hens

Practice of layer poultry farming and commercial egg production relies on the optimal use and improvement of the welfare and genetically determined functional abilities of laying hens, their efficient intake of feed and its components, adaptation to housing conditions and resistance to infectious diseases including salmonellosis. Previous studies were focussed on relationships of chicken performance and resistance with the expression profiles of individual genes involved in metabolic processes and immune system, or with genetic markers that can be closely associated with these processes in chickens. In this study, mathematical models of coherent changes in laying hens were developed for the expression of eight genes involved in immunity and metabolism, on the one hand, and biochemical and immunological blood parameters, on the other hand, in response to Salmonella infection and administration of a phytobiotic Intebio. The proposed modelling approach can be a further basis for an in-depth research of the relationship between the gene expression, functional state and welfare of poultry, impact of pathogenic microorganisms and use of immunomodulatory drugs

Investigating adverse effects of chronic dietary exposure to herbicide glyphosate on zootechnical characteristics and clinical, biochemical and immunological blood parameters in broiler chickens

Although the herbicide glyphosate is widely used globally and considered safe, more evidence of its adverse effects on animals and humans is accumulating. The present investigation was aimed at evaluating the impact of different glyphosate concentrations on zootechnical characteristics and clinical, biochemical and immunological blood parameters in Ross 308 broiler chickens. Four groups were employed, including untreated control and three experimental groups fed diets enriched with glyphosate at doses of 10, 20 and 100 ppm that conformed to 0.5, 1 and 5 maximum residue limits, respectively. The results showed that glyphosate is a stress factor triggering a multifaceted effect on important blood parameters (e.g., white blood cell and phagocytic counts), which was shown for the first time in the experiments involving productive meat-type poultry. It was first revealed that glyphosate-induced changes in blood parameters may be related to a negative impact on the zootechnical characteristics including the digestive tract organ development and body weight gain. The study findings suggested that exposure to glyphosate in the feedstuffs can adversely affect the physiological condition and productivity of broilers

Effects of essential oils-based supplement and Salmonella infection on gene expression, blood parameters, cecal microbiome and egg production in laying hens

Simple Summary Salmonellosis is one of the most severe zoonotic diseases transmitted to humans through animal products (especially poultry meat and eggs). Essential oils (EOs)-based feed additives in poultry nutrition are a possible alternative replacement of antimicrobials to fight this infection. In the present study on laying hens, we tested a phytobiotic, Intebio®, and elucidated formation of immune response and changes in cecal microbiocenosis and biochemical/immunological variables in blood caused by Salmonella. Changes in differential gene expression were observed at both one and seven days post-inoculation in the hens’ intestines, revealing similarities with known mammalian/human tissue-specific expression. The results of this study suggest that the challenge of birds with Salmonella had a negative effect, while phytobiotic intake had a positive effect on the status of their gastrointestinal microbiome, their level of metabolism, and their performance. Abstract One of the main roles in poultry resistance to infections caused by Salmonella is attributed to host immunity and intestinal microbiota. We conducted an experiment that involved challenging Lohmann White laying hens with Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), feeding them a diet supplemented with an EOs-based phytobiotic Intebio®. At 1 and 7 days post-inoculation, the expression profiles of eight genes related to immunity, transport of nutrients in the intestine, and metabolism were examined. Cecal microbiome composition and blood biochemical/immunological indices were also explored and egg production traits recorded. As a result, the SE challenge of laying hens and Intebio® administration had either a suppressive or activating effect on the expression level of the studied genes (e.g., IL6 and BPIFB3), the latter echoing mammalian/human tissue-specific expression. There were also effects of the pathogen challenge and phytobiotic intake on the cecal microbiome profiles and blood biochemical/immunological parameters, including those reflecting the activity of the birds’ immune systems (e.g., serum bactericidal activity, β-lysine content, and immunoglobulin levels). Significant differences between control and experimental subgroups in egg performance traits (i.e., egg weight/number/mass) were also found. The phytobiotic administration suggested a positive effect on the welfare and productivity of poultry

Analysis of changes in broiler microbiome biodiversity parameters due to intake of glyphosate and probiotic Bacillus sp. GL-8 using next generation sequencing

In recent years, there have been more data that the nonselective herbicide glyphosate (GLY) can negatively impact gut bacterial communities. The aim of our study was to investigate the composition of broiler caecal microbiome under chronic exposure to GLY and the introduction of a probiotic microorganism strain into the diet. 120 broilers were divided into three groups: Group 1 of control birds fed the basic diet (BD); Group 2 of experimental birds fed BD supplemented with GLY; and Group 3 of experimental birds fed BD supplemented with GLY and a probiotic strain of the microorganism Bacillus sp. GL-8. For analysis, we used the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technique. Due to the GLY administration, there was a trend of lowering the biodiversity of normal microflora representatives, along with intestinal colonization by undesirable forms of microorganisms. In particular, when adding GLY (Group 2), we observed a decreased number of Tepidimicrobium representatives (0.001 ±0.00006%) that ferment indigestible polysaccharides, while in Group 1 their content was greater (0.3 ± 0.02%; P ≤ 0.05). In Group 3 with probiotic, there was a lower number of Firmicutes (by 16.7%) and a rise in the number of Bacteroidetes (by 19.1%) as compared to Group 2 (P ≤ 0.05)

Bioactive Feed Additive for the Prevention of Clostridial Disease in High-Yielding Dairy Cattle

The purpose of this research is to develop and test a new approach to prevent clostridial disease in cattle, based on the use of a new compound biologically active feed additive (BFA). Some properties of the separate components of BFA are characterized. The research showed that a strain of the bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens159 has an expressed antagonism to toxin-producing strains of C. perfringens. When using the test strains of C. perfringens from the ATCC collection (13,124 as type A, 10,543 as type C, 12,916 as type F), the anticlostridial activity of the tested strains varied, with size range of 14.0 ± 0.95–15.0 ± 1.28 mm of delayed growth zones. The bactericidal properties of lauric acid and the sorption properties of diatomaceous earth, included in BFA, were confirmed. The experiment was conducted on Holstein cows at the beginning of lactation (control, C (n = 15) vs. experimental E48 (n = 15), E80 (n = 15) and E112 (n = 15), 48, 80 and 112 g/head/day BFA, respectively. All cows were vaccinated with “Coglavax” (vaccine against bovine and sheep clostridial disease, Ceva-Phylaxia VeterinaryBiologicals, Hungary), reinjected two weeks before the experiment. At the end of the experiment (3.5 months after the vaccination and 3 months after the start of BFA feeding according to the scheme of the experiment), the immune response in the control and Group E48 to C. perfringens β-toxin remained at the initial level, while the response in Group E80 and Group E112 became higher under the influence of BFA feeding. Cows fed BFA saw a guaranteed improvement in non-specific resistance. The increase in serum lysozyme concentration in cows of Groups E was 1.01–2.91 mkg/mL vs. control (p p p p p p p = 0.002). Serum TBA–AP/ CP ratio was directly related to TBA–AP (r = 0.87, p p = 0.03 vs. Control). Thus, feeding BFA to dairy cows was found to improve resistance, prevent toxicoses and increase milk production of cattle, which can serve as an additional strategy for bioprotection of cattle against infection