Seminal Bacterioflora of Two Rooster Lines: Characterization, Antibiotic Resistance Patterns and Possible Impact on Semen Quality
Eva Tvrdá,
Michaela Petrovičová,
Filip Benko,
Michal Ďuračka,
Ján Kováč,
Tomáš Slanina,
Lucia Galovičová,
Jana Žiarovská,
Miroslava Kačániová
Affiliations
Eva Tvrdá
Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Michaela Petrovičová
Institute of Applied Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Filip Benko
Institute of Applied Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Michal Ďuračka
AgroBioTech Research Centre, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Ján Kováč
Institute of Applied Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Tomáš Slanina
Institute of Applied Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Lucia Galovičová
Department of Fruit Science, Viticulture and Enology, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Jana Žiarovská
Institute of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Miroslava Kačániová
Department of Fruit Science, Viticulture and Enology, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
This study aimed to characterize the bacterial profiles and their association with selected semen quality traits among two chicken breeds. Thirty Lohmann Brown and thirty ROSS 308 roosters were selected for semen quality estimation, including sperm motility, membrane and acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity, and DNA fragmentation. The oxidative profile of the semen, including the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidant capacity, protein, and lipid oxidation, were assessed as well. Moreover, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukins 1 and 6 (IL-1, IL-6) and C-reactive protein, as well as the concentrations of selected antibacterial proteins (cathelicidin, β-defensin and lysozyme) in the seminal plasma were evaluated with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The prevailing bacterial genera identified by the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry were Citrobacter spp., Enterococcus spp., Escherichia spp. and Staphylococcus spp. While the bacterial load was significantly higher in the ROSS 308 line (p Escherichia coli presented with significantly (p p < 0.05) higher levels of β-defensin and lysozyme were found in the semen collected from the ROSS 308 roosters, which was characterized by a higher quality in comparison to the Lohmann Brown roosters. In conclusion, we emphasize the criticality of bacteriospermia in the poultry industry and highlight the need to include a more complex microbiological screening of semen samples designated for artificial insemination.
