Disruptions in the intestinal microbial ecology associated with C. perfringens

REDONDO, LEANDRO MARTIN; DIAZ-CARRASCO, JM; CASANOVA, NATALIA A.; PINTO ALIPIO; CANGELOSI, ADRIANA; GEOGHEGAN, PATRICIA; JORGE GOLDSTEIN; FERNÁNDEZ MIYAKAWA, MARIANO ENRIQUE

VIRTUAL

Congreso; ANAEROBE 2021: THE MICROBIOTA AND BEYOND; 2021

Microbiology Society

Clostridium perfringens epsilon toxin (ETX) produces a combination of brain and intestine alterations which play a key role in the pathogenesis of enterotoxaemia in ruminants. Although many reports describe gut microbiota changes in relation to neurological or intestinal diseases, no reports describe how neurodegenerative effects of ETX can shape intestinal environment and the resident microbial populations.In the present study, groups of mice were challenged with sub-lethal ETX doses. After ETX challenge, mice were sacrificed and cecal contents were collected. DNA was extracted and the V3−V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified. HTS was performed in the Illumina MiSeq platform. Bioinformatics analysis was done with QIIME2. In addition, brains sections were analysed to confirm ETX neurotoxic actions.In the ETX challenged mice, microbial diversity was reduced and changes in the relative abundance of some taxonomic groups were observed. At the phylum level, a significant increase were observed in the Bacteroidetes while Firmicutes were reduced (p