Effect of oral administration of microcin Y on growth performance, intestinal barrier function and gut microbiota of chicks challenged with Salmonella Pullorum

• Published in: Veterinary research (Paris) Vol. 55; no. 1; pp. 66 - 16
• Main Authors: Li, Wenjing, Zeng, Zhiwei, Zhou, Di, Wang, Guyao, Wang, Zepeng, Li, Yu, Han, Yu, Qin, Miaomiao, Luo, Changqi, Feng, Saixiang, Cao, Weisheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 22-05-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial agents; Bacteriocins - administration & dosage; Bacteriocins - pharmacology; Body weight; Chickens; Contamination; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; gut microbiota; Health aspects; Infection; intestinal barrier; Intestinal Barrier Function; Life Sciences; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microcin Y; Poultry Diseases - microbiology; Random Allocation; Salmonella; Salmonella - drug effects; Salmonella - physiology; Salmonella Infections, Animal - microbiology; Salmonella Pullorum; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; China; Salmonella Pullorum; Microcin Y; intestinal barrier; gut microbiota
• ISSN: 1297-9716; 0928-4249; 1297-9716
• DOI: 10.1186/s13567-024-01321-x

The lasso peptide microcin Y (MccY) effectively inhibits various serotypes of Salmonella in vitro, but the antibacterial effect against S. Pullorum in poultry is still unclear. This study was the first to evaluate the safety and anti-S. Pullorum infection of MccY in specific pathogen-free (SPF) chicks. The safety test showed that the body weight, IgA and IgM levels of serum, and cecal microbiota structure of 3 groups of chicks orally administrated with different doses of MccY (5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg) for 14 days were not significantly different from those of the control group. Then, the chicks were randomized into 3 groups for the experiment of anti-S. Pullorum infection: (I) negative control group (NC), (II) S. Pullorum-challenged group (SP, 5 × 10
 CFU/bird), (III) MccY-treated group (MccY, 20 mg/kg). The results indicated that compared to the SP group, treatment of MccY increased body weight and average daily gain (P < 0.05), reduced S. Pullorum burden in feces, liver, and cecum (P < 0.05), enhanced the thymus, and decreased the spleen and liver index (P < 0.05). Additionally, MccY increased the jejunal villus height, lowered the jejunal and ileal crypt depth (P < 0.05), and upregulated the expression of IL-4, IL-10, ZO-1 in the jejunum and ileum, as well as CLDN-1 in the jejunum (P < 0.05) compared to the SP group. Furthermore, MccY increased probiotic flora (Barnesiella, etc.), while decreasing (P < 0.05) the relative abundance of pathogenic flora (Escherichia and Salmonella, etc.) compared to the SP group.