Affiliation:
1. Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
2. Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Structural disruption of the gut microbiota and impaired goblet cell function are collateral etiologic factors in enteric diseases. Low, moderate, or high doses of a
Bacillus licheniformis
-
B. subtilis
mixture (BLS mix) were orally administered to piglets of genotype
MUC4
that are supposed to be F4-expressing enterotoxigenic
Escherichia coli
strain (F4
+
ETEC) F4ab/ac receptor negative (i.e.,
MUC4
-resistant piglets) for 1 week before F4
+
ETEC challenge. The luminal contents were collected from the mucosa of the colon on day 8 after F4
+
ETEC challenge. The BLS mix attenuated
E. coli
-induced expansion of
Bacteroides uniformis
,
Eubacterium eligens
,
Acetanaerobacterium
, and
Sporobacter
populations.
Clostridium
and
Turicibacter
populations increased following F4
+
ETEC challenge in pigs pretreated with low-dose BLS mix.
Lactobacillus
gasseri
and
Lactobacillus salivarius
populations increased after administration of BLS mix during
E. coli
infection. The beneficial effects of BLS mix were due in part to the expansion of certain
Clostridium
,
Lactobacillus
, and
Turicibacter
populations, with a corresponding increase in the number of goblet cells in the ileum via upregulated
Atoh1
expression, in turn increasing MUC2 production and thus preserving the mucus barrier and enhancing host defenses against enteropathogenic bacteria. However, excessive BLS mix consumption may increase the risk for enteritis, partly through disruption of colonic microbial ecology, characterized by expansion of
Proteobacteria
and impaired goblet cell function in the ileum. Our findings suggest that oral administration of BLS mix reprograms the gut microbiota and enhances goblet cell function to ameliorate enteritis.
IMPORTANCE
The present study is important for improving our understanding of the protective role of probiotics against
Escherichia coli
infection in piglets. Structural disruption of the gut microbiota and impaired goblet cell function are collateral etiologic factors in enteric diseases. In this study, low, moderate, or high doses of a
Bacillus licheniformis-B. subtilis
mixture (BLS mix) were orally administered to
MUC4
-resistant piglets for 1 week before the F4-expressing ETEC strain (F4
+
ETEC) challenge. Our findings suggest that oral administration of BLS mix reprograms the gut microbiota and enhances goblet cell function to ameliorate enteritis.
Funder
The Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Ecology,Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,Food Science,Biotechnology