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The Paternal Effect of Campylobacter jejuni Colonization in Ceca in Broilers

X. Li^*,1, C. L. Swaggerty^,1, M. H. Kogut^,2, H. Chiang^*, Y. Wang^*, K. J. Genovese, H. He, N. J. Stern, I. Y. Pevzner and H. Zhou^*,2

^* Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843; Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, College Station, TX 77845; Poultry Microbiological Safety Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Athens, GA 32604; and Cobb-Vantress Inc., Siloam Springs, AR 72761

² Corresponding authors: kogut{at}ffsru.usda.gov and hjzhou{at}poultry.tamu.edu

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of acute enteritis worldwide. Chickens are believed to be the main reservoir of C. jejuni. The role that host genetics play in resistance/susceptibility to C. jejuni colonization in broilers is still not clear. Day-old broilers from 2 parental lines (A and B) and their F₁ reciprocal crosses (C and D) were challenged orally with 10⁵ cfu of C. jejuni to address the role of genetics in determining resistance/susceptibility to C. jejuni colonization in broilers. Cloacal swabs were collected on 6, 10, and 13 d postinoculation (dpi), and cecal contents cultured for C. jejuni on 7 and 14 dpi. The number of C. jejuni colonies in the cloacal swabs and cecal contents of each bird were recorded at each time point. Significantly fewer bacteria were found in the cecal contents from line A than B (P < 0.05) and cross D (A x B ) when compared with cross C (A x B ) at both 7 and 14 dpi. There was a significant correlation between C. jejuni counts in cloacal swabs and those in cecal contents. The results indicated that a paternal effect might be one of the important genetic factors influencing resistance to C. jejuni colonization in broilers.

Key Words: Campylobacter jejuni • broiler • paternal effect • cecal colonization

¹ Equal contribution.