The 16S rRNA gene sequencing of gut microbiota in chickens infected with different virulent Newcastle disease virus

Abstract Background Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is pathogenic to chickens, which is characterized by dyspnea, diarrhea, nervous disorder and hemorrhages. However, the influence of different virulent NDV infection on the host gut microbiota composition is still poorly understood. In this study, twenty 21-day-old specific pathogen free chickens were inoculated with either the velogenic Herts33 NDV strain, lentogenic La Sota NDV strain or sterile phosphate buffer solution (PBS). Through 16S rRNA sequencing, the collected fecal samples of control and NDV infected chickens were examined. Results The results showed that the gut microbiota were mainly dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria in both healthy and NDV infected chickens. NDV infection altered the structure and composition of gut microbiota. As compared to PBS group, phylum Firmicutes were remarkably reduced, whereas Proteobacteria was significantly increased in velogenic NDV infected group. While the gut community structure has no significant differences between lentogenic NDV infected group and PBS group at phylum level. At genus level, Escherichia-Shigella was significantly increased in both velogenic and lentogenic NDV infected groups, but the lactobacillus was only remarkably decreased in velogenic NDV infected group. Collectively, different virulent NDV infection resulted in a different alteration of the gut microbiota in chickens, including a loss of probiotic bacteria and a expansion of pathogenic bacteria. Conclusion These results indicated that NDV with different virulence have different impact on chicken gut microbiota and may provide new insights into the intestinal pathogenesis of NDV.