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This article follows-up on our recently published work, which evaluated the impact of the addition of an alfalfa leaf-derived adsorbent in the aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 )-contaminated diet in regard to the production parameters, blood cell count, serum biochemistry, liver enzymes, and liver histology of turkey poults. This paper presents complementary results on microbial community, ileal morphology, barrier function, and immunity. For this purpose, 350 1-day-old female turkey poults were randomly distributed into five groups: (1) Control, AFB 1 -free diet; (2) AF, AFB 1 -contaminated diet at 250 ng/g; (3) alfalfa, AFB 1 -free diet + 0.5% ( w / w ) adsorbent; (4) alfalfa + AF, AFB 1 -contaminated diet at 250 ng/g + 0.5% ( w / w ) adsorbent; and (5) YCW + AF, AFB 1 -contaminated diet at 250 ng/g + 0.5% ( w / w ) commercial yeast cell wall-based adsorbent (reference group). In general, in the AF group, the growth of opportunistic pathogens was promoted, which lead to gut dysbacteriosis, mainly influenced by Streptococcus lutetiensis . Conversely, a significant increase in beneficial bacteria ( Faecalibacterium and Coprococcus catus ) was promoted by the addition of the plant-based adsorbent. Moreover, the AF group had the lowest villus height and a compromised barrier function, as evidenced by a significant ( p < 0.05) increase in fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-d), but these negative effects were almost reversed by the addition of the alfalfa adsorbent. Furthermore, the AF + YCW and alfalfa + AF groups exhibited a significant increase in the cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity response compared to the rest of the experimental groups. Taken together, these results pointed out that the alfalfa counteracts the adverse effects of AFB 1 in poults, facilitating the colonization of beneficial bacteria and improving the barrier function of the turkey poults.

A recent study published data on the growth performance, relative weights of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, liver histology, serum biochemistry, and hematological parameters for turkey poults fed an experimental diet contaminated with aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) and humic acids (HA) extracted from vermicompost. The negative effects of AFB 1 (250 ng AFB 1 /g of feed) were significantly reduced by HA supplementation (0.25% w / w ), suggesting that HA might be utilized to ameliorate the negative impact of AFB 1 from contaminated diets. The present study shows the results of the remaining variables, as an extension of a previously published work which aimed to evaluate the impact of HA on the intestinal microbiota, gut integrity, ileum morphometry, and cellular immunity of turkey poults fed an AFB 1 -contaminated diet. For this objective, five equal groups of 1-day-old female Nicholas-700 turkey poults were randomly assigned to the following treatments: negative control (basal diet), positive control (basal diet + 250 ng AFB 1 /g), HA (basal diet + 0.25% HA), HA + AFB 1 (basal diet + 0.25% HA + 250 ng AFB 1 /g), and Zeolite (basal diet + 0.25% zeolite + 250 ng AFB 1 /g). In the experiment, seven replicates of ten poults each were used per treatment ( n = 70). In general, HA supplementation with or without the presence of AFB 1 showed a significant increase ( p < 0.05) in the number of beneficial butyric acid producers, ileum villi height, and ileum total area, and a significant reduction in serum levels of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-d), a marker of intestinal integrity. In contrast, poults fed with AFB 1 showed a significant increase in Proteobacteria and lower numbers of beneficial bacteria, clearly suggesting gut dysbacteriosis. Moreover, poults supplemented with AFB 1 displayed the lowest morphometric parameters and the highest intestinal permeability. Furthermore, poults in the negative and positive control treatments had the lowest cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity response. These findings suggest that HA supplementation enhanced intestinal integrity (shape and permeability), cellular immune response, and healthier gut microbiota composition, even in the presence of dietary exposure to AFB 1 . These results complement those of the previously published study, suggesting that HA may be a viable dietary intervention to improve gut health and immunity in turkey poults during aflatoxicosis.

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of humic acid (HA) from worm compost as an adsorbent for aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) in turkey poults. The experiment involved the inclusion of 0.25% (w/w) HA in the diet of turkey poults consuming aflatoxin-contaminated feed (250 ng AFB 1 /g). A total of 350 1-day-old female Nicholas-700 turkey poults were randomly allocated to five equal groups: negative control (basal diet); positive control (basal diet + 250 ng AFB 1 /g; HA (basal diet + 0.25% HA); HA + AFB 1 (basal diet + HA + 250 ng AFB 1 /g); and zeolite + AFB 1 (basal diet + 0.25% zeolite + 250 ng AFB 1 /g). Each group had seven replicates of 10 poults ( n = 70). The impact of HA addition was evaluated in terms of performance parameters, relative organ weights, liver histological lesions, and serum biochemical and hematological constituents. In general, the addition of HA improved body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), and feed conversion rate (FCR). Furthermore, HA effectively mitigated the toxic effects caused by AFB 1 in the majority of the analyzed variables. The results indicated that HA effectively counteracted the AFB 1 -induced toxic effects in turkey poults. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that HA is capable of removing AFB 1 from the contaminated diet., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2023 Maguey-González, Nava-Ramírez, Gómez-Rosales, Ángeles, Solís-Cruz, Hernández-Patlán, Merino-Guzmán, Hernandez-Velasco, Hernández-Ramírez, Loeza, Senas-Cuesta, Latorre, Vázquez-Durán, Du, Méndez-Albores, Hargis and Téllez-Isaías.)

A mixed Eimeria spp. challenge model was designed to assess the effects of challenge on broiler chicken performance, intestinal integrity, and the gut microbiome for future use to evaluate alternative strategies for controlling coccidiosis in broiler chickens. The experimental design involved broiler chickens divided into two groups: a control group (uninfected) and a positive control group, infected with Eimeria acervulina (EA), Eimeria maxima (EM), and Eimeria tenella (ET). At day-of-hatch, 240 off-sex male broiler chicks were randomized and allocated to one of two treatment groups. The treatment groups included: (1) Non-challenged (NC, n  = 5 replicate pens); and (2) challenged control (PC, n  = 7 replicate pens) with 20 chickens/pen. Pen weights were recorded at d0, d16, d31, d42, and d52 to determine average body weight (BW) and (BWG). Feed intake was measured at d16, d31, d42, and d52 to calculate feed conversion ratio (FCR). Four diet phases included a starter d0-16, grower d16-31, finisher d31-42, and withdrawal d42-52 diet. At d18, chickens were orally challenged with 200 EA, 3,000 EM, and 500 ET sporulated oocysts/chicken. At d24 (6-day post-challenge) and d37 (19-day post-challenge), intestinal lesion scores were recorded. Additionally, at d24, FITC-d was used as a biomarker to evaluate intestinal permeability and ileal tissue sections were collected for histopathology and gene expression of tight junction proteins. Ileal and cecal contents were also collected to assess the impact of challenge on the microbiome. BWG and FCR from d16-31 was significantly ( p  < 0.05) reduced in PC compared to NC. At d24, intestinal lesion scores were markedly higher in the PC compared to the NC. Intestinal permeability was significantly increased in the PC group based on serum FITC-d levels. Cadherin 1 (CDH1), calprotectin (CALPR), and connexin 45 (Cx45) expression was also upregulated in the ileum of the PC group at d24 (6-day post-challenge) while villin 1 (VIL1) was downregulated in the ileum of the PC group. Additionally, Clostridium perfringens (ASV1) was enriched in the cecal content of the PC group. This model could be used to assess the effect of alternative coccidiosis control methods during the post-challenge with EA, EM, and ET., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Graham, Petrone-Garcia, Hernandez-Velasco, Coles, Juarez-Estrada, Latorre, Chai, Shouse, Zhao, Forga, Senas-Cuesta, Laverty, Martin, Trujillo-Peralta, Loeza, Gray, Hargis and Tellez-Isaias.)

Introduction: Drug-sensitive live coccidiosis vaccines have been used to control coccidiosis and renew drug sensitivity in commercial chicken operations. However, only limited species coverage vaccines have been available for commercial turkey producers. This study aimed to assess the effect of an E. meleagrimitis vaccine candidate, with and without amprolium intervention, on performance and oocyst shedding. Additionally, the effect of vaccination, amprolium treatment, and E. meleagrimitis challenge on intestinal integrity and microbiome composition was evaluated., Methods: Experimental groups included: (1) NC (non-vaccinated, non-challenged control); (2) PC (non-vaccinated, challenged control); (3) VX + Amprol ( E. meleagrimitis candidate vaccine + amprolium); and 4) VX ( E. meleagrimitis candidate vaccine). For VX groups, 50% of the direct poults were orally vaccinated at DOH with 50 sporulated E. meleagrimitis oocysts and were comingled with contact or non-vaccinated poults for the duration of the study. From d10-14, VX + Amprol group received amprolium (0.024%) in the drinking water. All groups except NC were orally challenged with 95K E. meleagrimitis sporulated oocysts/mL/poult at d23. At d29, ileal and cecal contents were collected for 16S rRNA gene-based microbiome analysis., Results and Discussion: VX did not affect performance during the pre-challenge period. At d23-29 (post-challenge), VX groups had significantly ( P < 0.05) higher BWG than the PC group. Contacts and directs of VX groups in LS had significantly reduced compared to PC. As anticipated, amprolium treatment markedly reduced fecal and litter OPG for the VX + Amprol group compared to the VX group which did not receive amprolium. The ileal and cecal content results showed that the PC group had different bacterial diversity and structure, including alpha and beta diversity, compared to NC. Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) identified that Lactobacillus salivarius (ASV2) was enriched in PC's ileal and cecal content. Compared to NC and PC, the vaccinated groups showed no distinct clusters, but there were similarities in the ileal and cecal communities based on Bray-Curtis and Jaccard distances. In conclusion, these results indicate that vaccination with this strain of E. meleagrimitis , with or without amprolium intervention, caused a very mild infection that induced protective immunity and challenge markedly affected both the ileal and cecal microbiome., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Trujillo-Peralta, Latorre, Chai, Senas-Cuesta, Forga, Coles, Zhao, Hernandez-Velasco, Tellez-Isaias, Barta, Bielke, Hargis and Graham.)