Influence of Eimeria falciformis Infection on Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Pathways in Mice
- 1 May 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Infection and Immunity
- Vol. 86 (5)
- https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00073-18
Abstract
Coccidiosis, caused by different species of Eimeria parasites, is an economically important disease of poultry and livestock worldwide. Here we report previously unknown alterations in the gut microbes and metabolism of BALB/c mice infected with Eimeria falciformis. Specifically, we observed a significant shift in the abundance of cecal bacteria and disrupted metabolism in parasitized animals. The relative abundances of Lachnospiraceae bacterium NK4A136, Ruminiclostridium, Alistipes, and Lactobacillus declined in response to E. falciformis infection, whereas Escherichia, Shigella, Helicobacter, Klebsiella, and Bacteroides were increased. Carbohydrate and amino acid metabolites in the serum samples of infected mice were significantly altered compared to naive controls. Levels of amino acids, including asparagine, histidine, L-cysteine, tryptophan, lysine, glycine, serine, alanine, proline, ornithine, methionine, and valine, decreased on day 7 postinfection before returning to baseline on day 14. In addition, increased levels of indolelactate and mannitol and a reduced amount of oxalic acid indicated impaired carbon metabolism upon parasitic infection. These data demonstrate that intestinal coccidial infection perturbs the microbiota and disrupts carbon and nitrogen metabolism.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFD0500400)
- National Transgenic Major Program of China (2014ZX0800603B)
- Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation (6152011)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572507)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31330076)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31472180)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31772728)
This publication has 51 references indexed in Scilit:
- Apicomplexan Parasite, Eimeria falciformis, Co-opts Host Tryptophan Catabolism for Life Cycle Progression in MouseOnline Journal of Public Health Informatics, 2012
- Global host metabolic response to Plasmodium vivax infection: a 1H NMR based urinary metabonomic studyMalaria Journal, 2011
- Revealing parasite influence in metabolic pathways in Apicomplexa infected patientsBMC Bioinformatics, 2010
- The Human Oral MicrobiomeJournal of Bacteriology, 2010
- Eating at the Table of Another: Metabolomics of Host-Parasite InteractionsCell Host & Microbe, 2010
- Gut Commensal Bacteria Direct a Protective Immune Response against Toxoplasma gondiiCell Host & Microbe, 2009
- Host-Parasite Interactions Revealed by Plasmodium falciparum MetabolomicsCell Host & Microbe, 2009
- Ecological Role of Lactobacilli in the Gastrointestinal Tract: Implications for Fundamental and Biomedical ResearchApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2008
- Modulation of the Host Cell Proteome by the Intracellular Apicomplexan ParasiteToxoplasma gondiiInfection and Immunity, 2008
- Use of 16S rRNA Gene Based Clone Libraries to Assess Microbial Communities Potentially Involved in Anaerobic Methane Oxidation in a Mediterranean Cold SeepMicrobial Ecology, 2007