Abstracts Category : Other

Determining the Probiotic Potential of Turkey Gut-Derived Lactobacillus against Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg in Turkey Poults

by Thomas Jijo Vazhakkattu

Foodborne infections of enteric origin constitute a significant segment of diseases that affect humans. Despite many control strategies adopted, foodborne infections invite public health concerns worldwide. Among the foodborne outbreaks in the United States, non-typhoidal salmonellosis ranks very high among its competitors. Some of the major serotypes of Salmonella that cause non-typhoidal foodborne infections include Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg. Poultry and poultry products are significant contributors of foodborne salmonellosis in humans. Salmonella colonizes the cecum of poultry and results in fecal excretion of the pathogen to the environment. Also, the pathogen can invade internal organs such as liver and spleen, and could be deposited in eggs during its formative stage. Among the Salmonella serotypes, Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg has emerged to cause multiple foodborne outbreaks associated with poultry products, recently. The pathogen has acquired resistance to commonly used antibiotics such as gentamicin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and ampicillin. Antimicrobial interventional strategies targeting the control of Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg is an emergent need. Given the situation that the bacteria are multidrug resistant (MDR), and that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued restrictions on the use of medically important antibiotics in animal agriculture, alternative strategies that can control the pathogen are required. Probiotics could be an alternative to antibiotics, as they can competitively exclude pathogens from attaching to intestinal epithelium thereby maintaining normal gut microbiota. Among the many probiotics, host-derived Lactobacillus could play a major role as they have an intrinsic affinity towards the host epithelium. In this thesis project, we investigated the potential of turkey gut-derived Lactobacillus ingluviei and Lactobacillus salivarius as an alternative strategy to control MDR Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg in turkey poults. We designed two objectives: 1. to determine the effect of supplementation of turkey gut-derived Lactobacillus salivarius and Lactobacillus ingluviei in combination against MDR Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg colonization in turkey poults, and 2. to determine the probiotic qualities of turkey gut-derived Lactobacillus salivarius and Lactobacillus ingluviei isolates in vitro. At first, we determined the efficacy of Lactobacillus of turkey-gut origin (Lactobacillus salivarius and Lactobacillus ingluviei) against MDR Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg colonization in commercial straight-run Hybrid Converter turkey poults. Three independent experiments were conducted. The treatment groups were negative control (-S. enterica serovar Heidelberg, -Lactobacillus), S. enterica serovar Heidelberg control (+S. enterica serovar Heidelberg, -Lactobacillus), and a treatment group (+S. enterica serovar Heidelberg, +Lactobacillus),