Open AccessMarek's disease virus influences the core gut microbiome of the chicken during the early and late phases of viral replication
Author(s) -
Perumbakkam Sudeep,
Hunt Henry D.,
Cheng Hans H.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/1574-6941.12392
Subject(s) - biology , feces , cecum , marek's disease , viral shedding , virus , virology , dysbiosis , microbiology and biotechnology , gut flora , microbiome , gastrointestinal tract , viral replication , immunology , genetics , ecology , biochemistry
Marek ’ s disease ( MD ) is an important neoplastic disease of chickens caused by the Marek ’ s disease virus ( MDV ), an oncogenic alphaherpesvirus. In this study, dysbiosis induced by MDV on the core gut flora of chicken was assessed using next generation sequence ( NGS ) analysis. Total fecal and cecum‐derived samples from individual birds were used to estimate the influence of MDV infection on the gut microbiome of chicken. Our analysis shows that MDV infection alters the core gut flora in the total fecal samples relatively early after infection (2–7 days) and in the late phase of viral infection (28–35 days) in cecal samples, corresponding well with the life cycle of MDV . Principle component analyses of total fecal and cecal samples showed clustering at the early and late time points, respectively. The genus Lactobacillus was exclusively present in the infected samples in both total fecal and cecal bird samples. The community colonization of core gut flora was altered by viral infection, which manifested in the enrichment of several genera during the early and late phases of MDV replication. The results suggest a relationship between viral infection and microbial composition of the intestinal tract that may influence inflammation and immunosuppression of T and B cells in the host.