Abstract
Salmonella is a major foodborne pathogen which successfully infects animal species for human consumption such as swine. The pathogen has a battery of virulence factors which it uses to colonise and persist within the host. The host microbiota may play a role in resistance to, and may also be indirectly responsible from some of the consequences of, Salmonella infection. To investigate this, we used 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing to determine the changes in the gut microbiota of pigs in response to infection by Salmonella Typhimurium at three locations: ileum mucosa, ileum content and faeces. Early infection (2 days post-infection) impacted on the microbiome diversity at the mucosa, reflected in a decrease in representatives of the generally regarded as desirable genera (i.e., Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus). Severe damage in the epithelium of the ileum mucosa correlated with an increase in synergistic (with respect to Salmonella infection; Akkermansia) or opportunistically pathogenic bacteria (Citrobacter) and a depletion in anaerobic bacteria (Clostridium spp., Ruminococcus, or Dialliser). Predictive functional analysis, together with metabolomic analysis revealed changes in glucose and lipid metabolism in infected pigs. The observed changes in commensal healthy microbiota, including the growth of synergistic or potentially pathogenic bacteria and depletion of beneficial or competing bacteria, could contribute to the pathogen’s ability to colonize the gut successfully. The findings from this study could be used to form the basis for further research aimed at creating intervention strategies to mitigate the effects of Salmonella infection.
Highlights
Salmonella is a major foodborne pathogen with a significant number of cases and outbreaks every year[1]
It is hoped that identification of the groups of bacteria affected by disruption of gut homeostasis following Salmonella infection, could serve as a preliminary step to design strategies to limit the alteration of the microbiota by Salmonella infection and to increase resistance to gut colonization by this pathogen
By repeated measure of analysis of variance (ANOVA), it was apparent that there were no significant differences in richness or evenness between infected and control pigs (p = 0.977; p = 0.75) or across sampling time points, (p = 0.96; p = 0.67)
Summary
Salmonella is a major foodborne pathogen with a significant number of cases and outbreaks every year[1]. Salmonella Typhimurium stands out due to its zoonotic importance in human salmonellosis[1] and its widespread distribution in pork production[4,5]. High throughput sequencing methods have provided an opportunity to study the porcine microbiota with unprecedented detail through sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene as a phylogenetic marker[14,15,16] These high throughput sequencing methods offer the chance to understand how infections such as swine salmonellosis impact the gut microbiota. Bearson and colleagues revealed a higher abundance of representatives of the family Ruminococcaceae in low-shedder pigs and depletion of Prevotella in high shedder pigs early after infection Another recent study, where pigs were challenged with S. It is hoped that identification of the groups of bacteria affected by disruption of gut homeostasis following Salmonella infection, could serve as a preliminary step to design strategies to limit the alteration of the microbiota by Salmonella infection and to increase resistance to gut colonization by this pathogen
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