Japanese Quail (Coturnix Japonica) as a Novel Model to Study the Relationship Between the Avian Microbiome and Microbial Endocrinology-Based Host-Microbe Interactions

Authors

Joshua M. Lyte, Poultry Production and Product Safety Research, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
James Keane, Department of Computer Science, Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland.
Julia Eckenberger, APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Nicholas Anthony, Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
Sandip Shrestha, Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
Daya Marasini, Weems Design Studio Inc., Suwanee, Georgia, USA/ Contractor to Centers for Disease control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
Karrie M. Daniels, Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
Valentina Caputi, APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Annie M. Donoghue, Poultry Production and Product Safety Research, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
Mark Lyte, Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.

ORCID

0000-0001-7640-8326

Document Type

Article

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Publication Details

Microbiome

© The Author(s). 2021

Abstract

Microbial endocrinology, which is the study of neuroendocrine-based interkingdom signaling, provides a causal mechanistic framework for understanding the bi-directional crosstalk between the host and microbiome, especially as regards the effect of stress on health and disease. The importance of the cecal microbiome in avian health is well-recognized, yet little is understood regarding the mechanisms underpinning the avian host-microbiome relationship. Neuroendocrine plasticity of avian tissues that are focal points of host-microbiome interaction, such as the gut and lung, has likewise received limited attention. Avian in vivo models that enable the study of the neuroendocrine dynamic between host and microbiome are needed. As such, we utilized Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) that diverge in corticosterone response to stress to examine the relationship between stress-related neurochemical concentrations at sites of host-microbe interaction, such as the gut, and the cecal microbiome.

Results

Our results demonstrate that birds which contrast in corticosterone response to stress show profound separation in cecal microbial community structure as well as exhibit differences in tissue neurochemical concentrations and structural morphologies of the gut. Changes in neurochemicals known to be affected by the microbiome were also identified in tissues outside of the gut, suggesting a potential relationship in birds between the cecal microbiome and overall avian physiology.

Conclusions

The present study provides the first evidence that the structure of the avian cecal microbial community is shaped by selection pressure on the bird for neuroendocrine response to stress. Identification of unique region-dependent neurochemical changes in the intestinal tract following stress highlights environmental stressors as potential drivers of microbial endocrinology-based mechanisms of avian host-microbiome dialogue. Together, these results demonstrate that tissue neurochemical concentrations in the avian gut may be related to the cecal microbiome and reveal the Japanese quail as a novel avian model in which to further examine the mechanisms underpinning these relationships.

Recommended Citation

Lyte, J.M., Keane, J., Eckenberger, J. et al. Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) as a novel model to study the relationship between the avian microbiome and microbial endocrinology-based host-microbe interactions. Microbiome 9, 38 (2021).