Abstract
The poultry industry is the fastest-growing agricultural sector globally. With poultry meat being economical and in high demand, the end product’s safety is of importance. Globally, governments are coming together to ban the use of antibiotics as prophylaxis and for growth promotion in poultry. Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens are two leading pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses and are linked explicitly to poultry products. Furthermore, numerous outbreaks occur every year. A substitute for antibiotics is required by the industry to maintain the same productivity level and, hence, profits. We aimed to isolate and identify potential probiotic strains from the ceca mucosa of the chicken intestinal tract with bacteriocinogenic properties. We were able to isolate multiple and diverse strains, including a new uncultured bacterium, with inhibitory activity against Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028, Salmonella Abony NCTC 6017, Salmonella Choleraesuis ATCC 10708, Clostridium perfringens ATCC 13124, and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. The five most potent strains were further characterized for their probiotic potential (i.e., sensitivity to antibiotics and tolerance to gastrointestinal physicochemical conditions). Our analyzed lactobacilli strains exhibited some interesting probiotic features while being inhibitory against targeted pathogens.
Highlights
Salmonella is one of the leading causes of foodborne diseases worldwide, followed closely by Clostridium perfringens [1,2]
Lactobacilli and other anaerobic bacteria are found to adhere to the epithelium of the intestinal tract, which is abundant with Bifidobacterium sp., Enterococcus faecium, and Pediococcus spp., with the ceca having the highest concentration of anaerobic bacteria [35]
We chose to target the mucosa of the intestinal tract rather than the lumen contents because the commensal strains are already ideally suited to that specific environment via adhesion and competitive exclusion, and, have a head start at potential probiotic properties [38]
Summary
Salmonella is one of the leading causes of foodborne diseases worldwide, followed closely by Clostridium perfringens [1,2]. As for C. perfringens, the CDC estimates that it causes 1 million cases of foodborne illnesses per year with a substantial economic loss to the poultry industry due to the high rate of poultry mortality [6,7]. Exposure to chicken and other poultry products has been identified as a common source of both campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis outbreaks and as a risk factor for sporadic infection with these pathogens [8]. With the recent ban on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters and for prophylaxis [9,10], producers will have to change the way the industry raises broilers by trying to mitigate the spread of poultry pathogens while maintaining the productivity of the past.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
