Parallel sequencing reveals Campylobacter spp. In commercial meat chickens less than 8 days old
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Parallel sequencing reveals Campylobacter spp. In commercial meat chickens less than 8 days old. / Colles, F. M.; Hedges, S. J.; Dixon, R.; Preston, S. G.; Thornhill, P.; Barfod, K. K.; Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G.; Créach, P.; Maiden, M. C.J.; Dawkins, M. S.; Smith, A. L.
I: Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Bind 87, Nr. 23, e01060-21, 2021.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Parallel sequencing reveals Campylobacter spp. In commercial meat chickens less than 8 days old
AU - Colles, F. M.
AU - Hedges, S. J.
AU - Dixon, R.
AU - Preston, S. G.
AU - Thornhill, P.
AU - Barfod, K. K.
AU - Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G.
AU - Créach, P.
AU - Maiden, M. C.J.
AU - Dawkins, M. S.
AU - Smith, A. L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2021 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Campylobacter from contaminated poultry meat is a major source of human gastroenteritis worldwide. To date, attempts to control this zoonotic infection with on-farm biosecurity measures have been inconsistent in outcome. A cornerstone of these efforts has been the detection of chicken infection with microbiological culture, where Campylobacter is generally not detectable until birds are at least 21 days old. Using parallel sequence-based bacterial 16S profiling analysis and targeted sequencing of the porA gene, Campylobacter was identified at very low levels in all commercial flocks at less than 8 days old that were tested from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and France. These young chicks exhibited a much greater diversity of porA types than older birds testing positive for Campylobacter by culture or quantitative PCR (qPCR). This suggests that as the bacteria multiply sufficiently to be detected by culture methods, one or two variants, as indicated by porA type, dominate the infection. The findings that (i) most young chicks carry some Campylobacter and (ii) not all flocks become Campylobacter positive by culture suggest that efforts to control infection, and therefore avoid contamination of poultry meat, should concentrate on how to limit Campylobacter to low levels by the prevention of the overgrowth of single strains. IMPORTANCE Our results demonstrate the presence of Campylobacter DNA among fecal samples from a range of commercially reared meat chicks that are less than 8 days of age, consistent across 3 European countries. The recently developed, sensitive detection method indicates that infection occurs on commercial farms much earlier and more widely than previously thought, which opens up new opportunities to control Campylobacter contamination at the start of the food chain and reduce the unacceptably high levels of human disease.
AB - Campylobacter from contaminated poultry meat is a major source of human gastroenteritis worldwide. To date, attempts to control this zoonotic infection with on-farm biosecurity measures have been inconsistent in outcome. A cornerstone of these efforts has been the detection of chicken infection with microbiological culture, where Campylobacter is generally not detectable until birds are at least 21 days old. Using parallel sequence-based bacterial 16S profiling analysis and targeted sequencing of the porA gene, Campylobacter was identified at very low levels in all commercial flocks at less than 8 days old that were tested from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and France. These young chicks exhibited a much greater diversity of porA types than older birds testing positive for Campylobacter by culture or quantitative PCR (qPCR). This suggests that as the bacteria multiply sufficiently to be detected by culture methods, one or two variants, as indicated by porA type, dominate the infection. The findings that (i) most young chicks carry some Campylobacter and (ii) not all flocks become Campylobacter positive by culture suggest that efforts to control infection, and therefore avoid contamination of poultry meat, should concentrate on how to limit Campylobacter to low levels by the prevention of the overgrowth of single strains. IMPORTANCE Our results demonstrate the presence of Campylobacter DNA among fecal samples from a range of commercially reared meat chicks that are less than 8 days of age, consistent across 3 European countries. The recently developed, sensitive detection method indicates that infection occurs on commercial farms much earlier and more widely than previously thought, which opens up new opportunities to control Campylobacter contamination at the start of the food chain and reduce the unacceptably high levels of human disease.
KW - Broiler chickens
KW - Campylobacter
U2 - 10.1128/AEM.01060-21
DO - 10.1128/AEM.01060-21
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34550767
AN - SCOPUS:85120076995
VL - 87
JO - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
JF - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
SN - 0099-2240
IS - 23
M1 - e01060-21
ER -
ID: 286629655