Previous studies have shown a tissue immune phenotype-altering event occurring on days 2 and 4 in the ceca post-Salmonella challenge. To evaluate the involvement of the cecal microbiota in the phenotype reprogramming, we hypothesized that the addition of subtherapeutic
bacitracin (BMD) will affect the cecal microbiota. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if the
antibiotic-mediated changes in the microbiota composition influenced the immune phenotype induced by Salmonella enteritidis
infection of the chicken cecum. A total of 112 fertile eggs were obtained for each experiment, repeated for a total of three separate times. The ceca and cecal contents were collected on days 2 and 4 post-
infection for
mRNA expression TaqMan assay and
16S rRNA gene microbiota sequencing. The results demonstrate the effects of
bacitracin on cecal composition and its interaction with Salmonella enteritidis in young chicks. There is a preliminary indication of phenotype change in the Salmonella-challenged group provided subtherapeutic BMD due to the shifting cecal microbiota and cecal immune response, indicating the addition of
bacitracin during
infection altered the cecal phenotype. These data demonstrate the potential involvement of the microbiota in reprogramming immune phenotype (
disease resistance to disease tolerance) induced by Salmonella in the chicken cecum.