Changes in bacterial community composition of Escherichia coli O157:H7 super-shedder cattle occur in the lower intestine
Date
2017
Authors
Zaheer, Rahat
Bony-Dugat, Eric
Holman, Devon
Cousteix, Elodie
Xu, Yong
Munns, Krysty D.
Selinger, Lorna J.
Barbieri, Rutn
Alexander, Trevor W.
McAllister, Tim A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Abstract
Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen that colonizes ruminants. Cattle are considered the primary reservoir of E. coli O157:H7 with super-shedders, defined as individuals excreting>104 E. coli O157:H7 CFU g-1 feces. The mechanisms leading to the super-shedding condition are largely unknown. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing to examine the composition of the fecal bacterial community in order to investigate changes in the bacterial microbiota at several locations along the digestive tract (from the duodenum to the rectal-anal junction) in 5 steers previously identified as super-shedders and 5 non-shedders. The overall bacterial community structure did not differ by E. coli O157:H7 shedding status; but several differences in the relative abundance of taxa and OTUs were noted between the two groups. The genus Prevotella was most enriched in the non-shedders while the genus Ruminococcus and the Bacteroidetes phylum were notably enriched in the super-shedders. There was greater bacterial diversity and richness in samples collected from the lower- as compared to the upper gastrointestinal tract (GI). The spiral colon was the only GI location that differed in terms of bacterial diversity between super-shedders and non-shedders. These findings reinforced linkages between E. coli O157:H7 colonization in cattle and the nature of the microbial community inhabiting the digestive tract of supershedders.
Description
Sherpa Romeo green journal. Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) applies.
Keywords
E. coli , Fecal bacterial community , Super-shedders , Non-shedders , Steers
Citation
Zaheer, R., Dugat-Bony, E., Holman, D., Cousteix, E., Xu, Y., Munns, K.,...Selinger, L. B. (2017). Changes in bacterial community composition of Escherichia coli O157:H7 super-shedder cattle occur in the lower intestine. PLoS ONE, 12(1), e0170050. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0170050