Response of Poultry Cecal Microbiota Inoculated with Campylobacter jejuni

The ability of Campylobacter spp to interact with the cecal microbiota makes understanding the metabolic exchanges occurring among these microorganisms important in identifying factors that impact Campylobacter colonization in the poultry gastrointestinal tract. The main objective was to compare two different types of media, Bolton Enrichment Broth, BEB, representative of the commercial media used for Campylobacter jejuni growth, and Anaerobic Dilution Solution, ADS, suited better for the natural environment of cecal microorganisms. Genomic DNA was extracted and amplified using custom dual indexed primers and sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq. Sequencing data were analyzed in QIIME2 2021.11, with alpha and beta diversity determined using Kruskal Wallis and ANOSIM. Total protein concentration was assessed via Bradfords assay. Interactions between media and time were significant based on ANOVA and ADONIS analyses. The result showed that ADS supported a significantly more even and diverse microbial population than BEB. ANCOM analysis indicated Lactobacillus as an abundant predominant genus in BEB, followed by Campylobacter. ADS was able to support C. jejuni growth based on ANCOM analysis on phyla and genera levels, as well as based on core microbiota analysis associated with each media type. This finding indicated that media is an essential contributor to the differences in microbial communities. Bradfords assay suggested that ADS media yielded a more consistent microbial growth than BEB. Thus, ADS should be considered to accurately reflect cecal microbial compositional changes in the presence of Campylobacter.