The Feed Additive Potassium Diformate Prevents <i>Salmonella enterica Serovar Pullorum</i> Infection and Affects Intestinal Flora in Chickens
Yufan Sun,
Panyuan Yu,
Yiluo Cheng,
Jiahui Liu,
Xiabing Chen,
Tengfei Zhang,
Ting Gao,
Rui Zhou,
Lu Li
Affiliations
Yufan Sun
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production Co-sponsored by Province and Ministry, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Panyuan Yu
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production Co-sponsored by Province and Ministry, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Yiluo Cheng
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production Co-sponsored by Province and Ministry, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Jiahui Liu
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production Co-sponsored by Province and Ministry, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Xiabing Chen
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Wuhan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430208, China
Tengfei Zhang
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control Agents for Animal Bacteriosis (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Pathogenic Microbiology, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430064, China
Ting Gao
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control Agents for Animal Bacteriosis (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Pathogenic Microbiology, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430064, China
Rui Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production Co-sponsored by Province and Ministry, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Lu Li
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production Co-sponsored by Province and Ministry, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Extensive studies have shown that potassium diformate (KDF), an antibiotic substitute used as a feed additive, improves animal growth performance, although there is less direct evidence of its preventive effect on bacterial infections and its influence on the intestinal flora of animals. In this study, the inhibition effect of KDF on Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum, an important enteric pathogen causing pullorum disease, was investigated in vitro and on a chicken infection model. The effect of KDF on the diversities and structures of chicken duodenal and cecum flora were also investigated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that addition of 0.5% KDF in feed or 0.1% KDF in drinking water significantly reduced the bacterial loads and the degree of pathological changes in the cecum, improved digestion and reduced the pH of the gastrointestinal tract of chickens infected with S. pullorum. KDF also significantly modified the diversity and abundance of intestinal microflorae in chickens. In particular, it promoted the colonization of several probiotics, such as Bacteroides, Blautia, Ruminococcus_torques_group and Faecalibacteriumm, which are involved in maintenance of the intestinal barrier, modulation of inflammation, energy supply for intestinal cells and pathogen resistance. These results enrich the theoretical basis for the clinical application of KDF in chickens.
