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Eimeria species cause the intestinal disease coccidiosis, most notably in poultry. While the direct impact of coccidiosis on animal health and welfare is clear, its influence on the enteric microbiota and by-stander effects on chicken health and production remains largely unknown, with the possible exception of Clostridium perfringens (necrotic enteritis). This study evaluated the composition and structure of the caecal microbiome in the presence or absence of a defined Eimeria tenella challenge infection in Cobb500 broiler chickens using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The severity of clinical coccidiosis in individual chickens was quantified by caecal lesion scoring and microbial changes associated with different lesion scores identified. Following E. tenella infection the diversity of taxa within the caecal microbiome remained largely stable. However, infection induced significant changes in the abundance of some microbial taxa. The greatest changes were detected in birds displaying severe caecal pathology; taxa belonging to the order Enterobacteriaceae were increased, while taxa from Bacillales and Lactobacillales were decreased with the changes correlated with lesion severity. Significantly different profiles were also detected in infected birds which remained asymptomatic (lesion score 0), with taxa belonging to the genera Bacteroides decreased and Lactobacillus increased. Many differential taxa from the order Clostridiales were identified, with some increasing and others decreasing in abundance in Eimeria-infected animals. The results support the view that caecal microbiome dysbiosis associated with Eimeria infection contributes to disease pathology, and could be a target for intervention to mitigate the impact of coccidiosis on poultry productivity and welfare. This work highlights that E. tenella infection has a significant impact on the abundance of some caecal bacteria with notable differences detected between lesion score categories emphasising the importance of accounting for differences in caecal lesions when investigating the relationship between E. tenella and the poultry intestinal microbiome.

Eimeria maxima is a common cause of coccidiosis in chickens, a disease that has a huge economic impact on poultry production. Knowledge of immunity to E. maxima and the specific mechanisms that contribute to differing levels of resistance observed between chicken breeds and between congenic lines derived from a single breed of chickens is required. This study aimed to define differences in the kinetics of the immune response of two inbred lines of White Leghorn chickens that exhibit differential resistance (line C.B12) or susceptibility (line 15I) to infection by E. maxima . Line C.B12 and 15I chickens were infected with E. maxima and transcriptome analysis of jejunal tissue was performed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 days post-infection (dpi). RNA-Seq analysis revealed differences in the rapidity and magnitude of cytokine transcription responses post-infection between the two lines. In particular, IFN-γ and IL-10 transcript expression increased in the jejunum earlier in line C.B12 (at 4 dpi) compared to line 15I (at 6 dpi). Line C.B12 chickens exhibited increases of IFNG and IL10 mRNA in the jejunum at 4 dpi, whereas in line 15I transcription was delayed but increased to a greater extent. RT-qPCR and ELISAs confirmed the results of the transcriptomic study. Higher serum IL-10 correlated strongly with higher E. maxima replication in line 15I compared to line C.B12 chickens. Overall, the findings suggest early induction of the IFN-γ and IL-10 responses, as well as immune-related genes including IL21 at 4 dpi identified by RNA-Seq, may be key to resistance to E. maxima .

Intestinal parasitism impact on skeletal development is poorly characterised. This study examined whether infection with Eimeria spp. disrupts bone and cartilage homeostasis in rapidly growing broiler chickens. Male Ross 308 chicks were randomly assigned to control or infection groups. On day 20 post-hatch, infected birds received a mixed oral inoculum of Eimeria spp.; controls were sham-dosed and euthanised 22 days later. Tibial osteometry, densitometry, strength, mineral composition and histomorphometry were assessed. Serum markers of bone turnover and inflammation were measured. Infection reduced maximum elastic strength, ultimate strength and elastic energy of the tibia. Trabecular bone volume fraction and thickness declined, whereas trabecular separation increased. The proportion of thin collagen in trabecular, cortical and articular tissues was reduced. Articular cartilage exhibited thinning of the superficial and deep zones and diminished proteoglycan staining. Mineral analysis revealed a lower Ca:P ratio and elevated copper and sulfur content. Serum IGF-1 decreased, while osteoprotegerin, IL-1β, IL-6, IgY, IgM and ceruloplasmin increased. These results demonstrate that Eimeria infection can secondarily compromise skeletal development through inflammatory and metabolic pathways. The broiler model therefore offers a tractable platform for investigating infection-associated, inflammation-driven bone loss relevant to paediatric and post-infectious osteopathies.

For this study, threonine (Thr) deficiency was hypothesised to exacerbate the intestinal damage induced by feed withdrawal with coccidial infection because of its high obligatory requirement by the gut; two dietary Thr treatments (0·49 and 0·90 %) were applied to chicks from 0 to 21 d of age. At 13 d of age, feed was withdrawn for 24 h from one-half of birds of each dietary treatment with subsequent gavage of a 25× dose of coccidial vaccine. Overall, there were four treatments with eight replicate cages per treatment. Under combined challenge, birds fed the Thr-deficient diet had 38 % lower 13–21-d body weight gain (P≤0·05) compared with birds fed the Thr-control diet. At 21 d, the challenged group fed low Thr had higher number of oocysts (+40 %, P=0·03) and lower crypt depth (−31 %, P<0·01). In addition, birds fed the low-Thr diet had higher gut permeability as measured after 2 h of administration of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (3–5 kDa, P<0·01), which may be attributed to decreased IgA production (P=0·03) in the ileum. In caecal tonsils, the challenged group fed low Thr had lower CD3:Bu-1 ratio (P≤0·05), along with a tendency for lower CCR9 mRNA expression in birds fed the low-Thr diet (P=0·10). In addition, Thr deficiency tended to increase IL-10 mRNA expression regardless of infection (P=0·06), but did not change interferon-γ mRNA expression upon coccidial infection (P>0·05). Overall, Thr deficiency worsened the detrimental effects of combined feed withdrawal and coccidial infection on growth performance and oocyst shedding by impairing intestinal morphology, barrier function, lymphocyte profiles and their cytokine expressions.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of copper oxide (Cu 2 O) and potentiated zinc oxide (ZnO) on performance, intestinal morphology, oocyst excretion, coccidial lesion scores, and antioxidant properties in broilers during an Eimeria spp. challenge. A total of 288 1-day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were divided into 18 treatments. Treatments included three levels of Cu (0, 15, or 150 mg/kg) from Cu 2 O and three levels of Zn (0, 80, or 160 mg/kg) from potentiated ZnO which were added to the basal diet and fed to broilers with or without challenge, using a completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement for 42 days. Live body weight, feed intake, mortality, and the cause of death were recorded weekly and histomorphology of jejunum was measured at the end of the experiment. Results showed that birds fed Cu and Zn linearly decreased ( P  < 0.0001) oocyst shedding. The number of excreted oocysts was reduced eight times in broilers fed a diet containing 150 mg/kg copper from Cu 2 O and 160 mg/kg zinc from potentiated ZnO, compared to the infected group without Cu and Zn supplementation ( P  < 0.0001). Microscopic features of both non-challenged and challenged broiler jejunum revealed significant improvement along with increased Cu 2 O and potentiated ZnO doses. Supplementation of Cu 2 O and potentiated ZnO decreased the jejunum structure damages and intestinal lesion score ( P  < 0.002). Eimeria caused a decrease ( P  < 0.006) in total antioxidant capacity. Superoxide dismutase increased by dietary zinc supplementation ( P  < 0.05). Results suggested that a combination of Cu 2 O and potentiated ZnO could exhibit efficient anticoccidial activity.

The current research study was designed to determine the inclusion of 2% dietary essential coconut oil with and without coccidiosis challenge on performance, carcass characteristics, and intestinal histomorphology in broilers. A total of 560 broiler chicks were divided into 4 groups and then subdivided into 5 replicates. Coconut oil was used at 2% in feed, whereas coccidiosis challenged was introduced using 30,000 oocysts. The other four groups were designated as G1 (without coconut oil and without oocysts), G2 (without coconut oil with oocysts), G3 (with coconut oil without oocysts), and G4 (with coconut oil and with oocysts). The results revealed that the overall feed consumption was significantly (P < 0.01) increased in G1 and G2 than G3 and G4 groups. Overall weight gain was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in G3 compared with all other groups. Significantly (P < 0.01) better feed conversion ratio was recorded at the finisher phase in G3 and G4 groups in comparison with G1 and G2. The villus length, width, and surface area were higher (P < 0.01) in G3 compared with G2. Based on the findings of the present study, it was concluded that the use of 2% coconut oil in broiler feed improved growth performance and villus histology during coccidial challenge.

Eimeria maxima is one of the seven Eimeria species that infect poultry. Despite being highly immunogenic, this species also displays variability in terms of antigenic characteristics. The objective of this study was to examine the biopathological properties of two distinct Eimeria maxima isolates in Iran. Two mixed field samples, collected from backyard poultry droppings with the highest numbers of Eimeria maxima oocysts, were selected for experimental challenges. The birds were inoculated with an equal number of oocysts, and the biopathological indicators of Eimeria oocysts were evaluated. The findings revealed that the two strains exhibited differences in terms of pathological lesions and intestinal inflammatory reactions on the seventh day post‐challenge (p > 0.05). Consequently, it was demonstrated that Eimeria maxima isolates from geographically distant regions possessed biological and pathogenic dissimilarities. Studies have shown the genetic diversity of Eimeria maxima as it may alter the efficiency of the applied anticoccidial vaccines. In the present study, biological traits of two distinct native isolates of E. maxima in chickens were evaluated and compared.

The purpose of the present experiment was to explore the therapeutic effect of the crude fruit juice of Citrus aurantifolia (CAJ) on Eimeria tenella disorder in chickens. One hundred twenty 3-week-old Ross 308 broilers of equal sexes were assigned to six experimental groups of 20 birds each. Groups A, B, C, D, and E were experimentally infected with 20,000 sporulated Eimeria tenella oocysts. Broilers in groups A, B, and C were infected and allocated to three treatment-graded doses of C. aurantifolia fruit juice (20, 10, and 5 mL/kg body weight, respectively) which were administered orally for 7 consecutive days of the trial. Group D was infected and treated with a reference drug, Amprolium 1.5 g/L of drinking water (positive control), group E served as infected-untreated control, and group F was uninfected and non-treated (negative control). Oocysts per gram of feces were counted using the McMaster counting device, weight gain was calculated, and blood samples from each experimental group were collected on days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 post-infection for hematological evaluation. Results revealed that medication of broilers with C. aurantifolia fruit juice dose-dependently increased body weight, improved cecal lesion, decreased the E. tenella oocyst production rate, and significantly (P<0.05) increased the PCV of the infected broilers. C. aurantifolia provided valuable therapeutic effects against E. tenella–induced coccidiosis in broiler chickens. The plant fruit juice should be further validated to explore the vital compounds responsible for the anticoccidial efficacy.

Abstract Objectives Indications for cholecystectomy have changed dramatically over the past three decades. Cystoisospora belli has been reported in cholecystectomy specimens of immunocompetent patients. The present study was designed to determine the prevalence and clinical association of C belli in the gallbladder. Methods The study included retrospective review of cholecystectomy specimens (n = 401) removed for various indications, and a prospective cohort of cholecystectomy specimens (n = 22) entirely submitted for histologic evaluation. Correlations of presence of C belli with age, sex, clinical indication, and abnormalities of preoperative laboratory values were assessed by Fisher exact test. Results C belli was identified in 39/401 (9.7%) of the retrospective cohort, and 6/22 (27.3%) of the entirely submitted specimens. The presence of C belli showed no correlation with age, sex, clinical indication, or laboratory abnormalities. Conclusions C belli resides in a latent state in the gallbladder and may be best considered a commensal organism.

Background Species of the genus Eimeria cause coccidiosis in chickens, resulting in a huge burden to the poultry industry worldwide. Eimeria tenella is one of the most prevalent chicken coccidia in China, and E. tenella infection causes hemorrhagic cecitis. Methods Using an established model of coccidiosis in chickens combined with necropsy, imaging of pathological tissue sections, and other techniques, we evaluated the gross and microscopic lesions of cecal tissue within 15 days after inoculation with sporulated oocysts and described the endogenetic developmental process and relationship between E. tenella infection and enteritis development in chickens. Results We observed three generations of merogony and gamogony in E. tenella. We observed gross lesions in the cecum from 84 hpi (hours post inoculation) and microscopic lesions from 60 hpi. The lesions in the cecum mainly exhibited hemorrhagic enteritis. Their severity increased with the onset of the second generation of merogony. The lesions began to alleviate by the end of the endogenous stages of E. tenella. Conclusion We show, for the first time, the complete observation of a series of changes in enteritis caused by 5 × 103 E. tenella oocysts. This study provides reference materials for E. tenella research and pathological diagnosis. This study used necropsy, pathological tissue sections, and other techniques to evaluate the gross and microscopic lesions of cecal tissue in multiple periods within 15 days after incubation of sporulated oocysts. A model of necrotizing enteritis in chicken was developed by sporulated Eimeria tenella oocyst (5 × 103) infection. We observed in detail the process of merogony and sexual development in three generations of E. tenella, as well as the macroscopic lesions and histopathologic changes in the cecum that corresponded to their appearance.