Newcastle Disease Virus Infection Interferes With the Formation of Intestinal Microflora in Newly Hatched Specific-Pathogen-Free Chicks

Ning Cui,Xiumei Zhang,Qinghua Huang,Shaohua Yang,Zhengjie Kong,Chuantian Xu,Xiaoying Huang,Yanyan Huang,Yanshun Cui,Lin Zhang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.00900

Abstract

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) infection leads to disproportion of intestinal tract microbiol population in chickens. Whether vertical infection of NDV affects the formation of a healthy and diverse intestinal community in newly hatched chicks, which might further perturb the establishment of a normal intestinal mucosal immunity, is unclear. This study examined the effects of NDV infection of chick embryos on the formation of the intestinal microbiome of chicks at hatch using 16S rRNA genes pyrosequencing. Eleven-day-old specific-pathogen-free chicken eggs were inoculated via intra-allantoic way with Class I NDV strain. At hatch, chicks were randomly selected and their duodenal and cecal contents were extracted and examined for the composition of gut microflora by Illumina sequencing of the V3+V4 region of the 16S rRNA genes. The results showed that the duodenal flora possesses a greater sample richness and higher microbial diversity as compared with the ceca flora in newly hatched chicks. In addition, there is a clear association with loss of important bacterial population in concert with an enrichment of potentially pathogenic population and NDV infections, both in the duodenum and ceca. It is also increasingly observed that the NDV infection may be associated with the dysbiosis of gut flora. This study presented a profile of the early intestinal microbiota in specific-pathogen-free chicks at hatch and strongly indicates that NDV infection interferes with the formation of intestinal microbiome in newly hatched chicks.

Highlights

The microflora in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of chickens play an important role in nutrition, detoxification of certain compounds, growth performance, and protection against pathogenic bacteria (Kelly et al, 2005; Roto et al, 2016; Varmuzova et al, 2016)
Samples were obtained from the duodenum and ceca of chickens in control group and chickens infected with Newcastle disease virus (NDV)
It has been generally assumed that the alimentary tract of a chick is devoid of microorganisms, birds examined within only a few hours of hatching frequently contain appreciable numbers of bacteria

Summary

Introduction

The microflora in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of chickens play an important role in nutrition, detoxification of certain compounds, growth performance, and protection against pathogenic bacteria (Kelly et al, 2005; Roto et al, 2016; Varmuzova et al, 2016). Since bacteria may play a role in the disease process due to the modification of intestinal innate immunity by dysbiosis and translocation of bacteria, changes of normal microflora in the digestive tract are important sites in the susceptibility of chickens to bacterial infection (Mead and Adams, 1975; Barnes, 1979; Stanley et al, 2014). It has been reported that NDV infection of chicks induced disproportion of GIT microbiol population and the influence of NDV became more serious with time going on by ERIC-PCR based fingerprints of total DNA from fecal samples (Li, 2007)

Methods

Results

Conclusion