Modulating effects of mycotoxin and oxidized oil on intestinal microbiota in broiler chickens

Authors: Kpodo, Kouassi; MILLIKEN, DANIEL - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); Campos, Philip; Proszkowiec-Wegla, Monika; ADEDOKUN, SUNDAY - University Of Kentucky

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/17/2024
Publication Date: 3/3/2025
Citation: Kpodo, K.R., Milliken, D.J., Campos, P.M., Proszkowiec-Wegla, M.K., Adedokun, S. 2025. Modulating effects of mycotoxin and oxidized oil on intestinal microbiota in broiler chickens. PLOS ONE. 20(3). Article e0314821. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314821.

Interpretive Summary: Contamination of chicken feed with harmful substances is one of the main causes of economic losses in the poultry industry. These economic losses stem from the negative impacts of the contaminants on intestinal health and function of chickens which consume the contaminated feed. Some of the contaminants are mycotoxins, the toxic compounds produced by several types of fungi, and oxidized oils that are byproducts of rancidity. Mycotoxins and oxidized oil from contaminated feed can also influence the bacteria which naturally colonize the chicken intestine and play an important role in intestinal development, growth, immune, digestive, and protective functions. However, little is known of the effects of mycotoxins and oxidized oil on intestinal bacterial population and their biological functions in broiler chickens. The study objective was to determine the effects of mycotoxins and oxidized oil on intestinal microbiota in modern broiler chickens. Chickens were fed diets made with mycotoxin-contaminated corn or oxidized soybean oil and were raised for 21 days post-hatch. Four types of samples including intestinal content and tissue were collected from different segments of the intestine (ileum and cecum) and their bacteria content determined using a DNA sequencing technique. Bacterial sequence data were analyzed using a microbiome bioinformatics platform. The results demonstrate that mycotoxins and oxidized soybean oil changed the diversity of bacterial population to the greatest degree only in the ileum but increased the abundance of some bacteria in both the ileum and the cecum. In addition, predicted metabolic pathways in bacteria related to RNA and DNA synthesis and oxidative stress conditions were increased in the intestine of broiler chickens in response to the contaminants. These data improved our understanding of the effects of several mycotoxins co-occurrence and oxidized oil on the microbiota in broiler chickens. Because chicken feed is most likely to be contaminated with mycotoxins and oxidized oil in commercial poultry production systems, more research is needed to devise strategies to reduce their negative impacts on intestinal microbiota of broiler chickens.

Technical Abstract: Climate change and increased use of alternative sources of feed ingredients can lead to contaminations such as mycotoxins and oxidized oil in chicken feed, influencing poultry production. Mycotoxins and oxidized oil may have additive effects on birds’ intestinal microbiota, which has been associated with gut health and immunity. The study objective was to determine the main effects of corn, oil quality, and their interaction on ileal content, ileal scrapings, ceca content, and whole cecum (content and tissue) microbiota in broiler chickens. Broiler chickens were fed diet made with regular or mycotoxin-contaminated corn (7,959 ppb of deoxynivalenol, 2.1 ppm of aflatoxin, 23,200 ppb of fumonisin, and 1,403 ppb of zearalenone), and regular or oxidized (148 meq/kg) oil and raised for 21 days post-hatch. Bacterial genomic DNA was extracted and sequenced targeting the variable (V3-V4) region of the 16S gene. The bioinformatic analysis of the microbiota data showed that most significant differences in alpha diversity were observed in ileal content microbiota. Mycotoxin and mycotoxin by oxidized oil interaction increased the richness and evenness in the ileal content, while only evenness was increased in the cecal content. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) showed that mycotoxin and mycotoxin by oxidized oil interaction also increased (P < 0.05) beta diversity based on the variability in microbial community in the ileal content. Mycotoxin and mycotoxin by oxidized oil interaction increased the abundance of bacterial taxa, including Streptomyces and Escherichia-Shigella, and predicted pathways related to RNA and DNA syntheses (Mycothiol and pyrimidine deoxyribonucleotides synthesis) and redox regulation (ergothioneine biosynthesis) in ileal content, while pathways related to glycol metabolism and degradation and amino acids degradation were increased in the cecal content. These results show that mycotoxin alone and its combination with oxidized oil affect bacterial diversity and abundance mostly in the ileum content and predicted metabolic pathways across intestinal sections.