Changes in intestinal immunity and gut microbiota associated necrotic enteritis induced by Clostridium perfringens infection and exposure to heat stress in chicken.

Background The present study investigated the effects of heat stress (HS) and Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) infection on the performance, jejunal morphometry, immunomodulatory responses of T cells, expression of cytokines and immune-related genes, and gut microbiota dynamics of male Qingyuan Patridge chickens. Healthy 20-day-old of male Qingyuan chicks (192) were randomly assigned to four groups of 12 replicates (n = 4 chicks/replicate).Results The results showed that exposure of chicks to HS and C. perfringens infection in the HCP2 (chicks reared under H ambient temperature with an oral dosage of CP) group decreased (P < 0.05) feed intake, body weight, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, villus height, and villus-to-crypt depth ratio in the jejunum compared to the LCP0 group.Conclusions These results demonstrate the potentially harmful effects of exposure to HS and C. perfringens infection on necrotic enteritis-related disturbances, growth performance, jejunum morphometry, immune-modulatory responses of T cells, expression of cytokines and immune-related genes, and gut microbiota dynamics in Qingyuan Patridge chickens exposed to HS.