Porcine deltacoronavirus infection alters bacterial communities in the colon and feces of neonatal piglets

In this study, 5‐day‐old piglets were experimentally infected with PDCoV strain CH‐01, and all piglets developed typical clinical disease, characterized by acute and severe watery diarrhea. Histologic lesions were limited to the villous epithelium of the duodenum a nd ileum. Gut microbiota profiles in the colon and feces of piglets inoculated with PDCoV were investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing. The results showed that PDCoV infection reduced bacterial diversity and significantly altered the composition of the microbiota from the phylum to the genus level in the colon and feces of piglets.Firmicutes (phylum),Lactobacillaceae (family), andLactobacillus (genus) were significantly increased (p <  .01), while the abundance ofBacteroidetes (phylum) was markedly reduced in the colon and feces of the PDCoV ‐infected piglets (p <  .01) when compared to those of the healthy piglets. Furthermore, microbial function prediction indicated that the changes in the intestinal flora also affected the nucleotide transport and metabolism, defense, translation, and transcription function of the intestinal microbiota. The current study provides new insight into the pathology and physiology of PDCoV.

Source: MicrobiologyOpen - March 31, 2020 Category: Microbiology Authors: Hai ‐Yan Li, Bing‐Xiao Li, Qing‐Qing Liang, Xiao‐Hui Jin, Lei Tang, Qing‐Wen Ding, Zhi‐Xiang Wang, Zhan‐Yong Wei Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research