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Title: PAENIBACILLUS POLYMYXA PURIFIED BACTERIOCIN AS THERAPEUTIC CONTROL OF CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI IN CHICKENS

Author
item Stern, Norman
item SVETOCH, E - ST RES CTR RUSSIA
item ERUSLANOV, B - ST RES CTR RUSSIA
item KOVALEV, Y - ST RES CTR RUSSIA
item VOLODINA, L - ST RES CTR RUSSIA
item PERELYGIN, V - ST RES CTR RUSSIA
item MITSEVICH, E - ST RES CTR RUSSIA
item LEVCHUK, V - ST RES CTR RUSSIA

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/5/2005
Publication Date: 7/1/2005
Citation: Stern, N.J., Svetoch, E.A., Eruslanov, B.V., Kovalev, Y.N., Volodina, L.I., Perelygin, V.V., Mitsevich, E.V., Levchuk, V.P. 2005. Paenibacillus polymyxa purified bacteriocin as therapeutic control of campylobacter jejuni in chickens. Journal of Food Protection. 68(7):1450-1453.

Interpretive Summary: Campylobacter is one of the most frequently reported food borne pathogens and, transmission to humans is associated with poultry products. As the bacterium does not multiply outside of the chicken intestine, controlling its numbers within the animal will reduce the public exposure and concomitantly reduce human disease. In this experiment, we purified a protein produced by a selected bacterial isolate native to chickens. This protein was then incorporated into the chicken feed. First, chickens were challenged and highly colonized with Campylobacter. Groups of birds were then used to compare levels of Campylobacter in chickens provided the protein-amended feed vs. the levels of Campylobacter found in chickens provided untreated feed. Treatment was provided only several days before the chickens were sampled. In total, 15 trials were conducted using birds of various ages. Therapeutic control in the treated animals was highly effective. Levels of Campylobacter in treated animals were reduced 100,000- to 1 billion-fold as compared to the untreated groups of birds (a 99.999 to 99.999999% reduction). Therapeutic treatment of poultry can be used by U. S. poultry growers to dramatically reduce public exposure to the pathogen Campylobacter. This treatment may provide an alternative therapy to antibiotics to control pathogens.

Technical Abstract: We used a bacteriocin-based, therapeutic treatment to reduce Campylobacter jejuni colonization in poultry. A purified bacteriocin (molecular weight of 3,864 Da) secreted by Paenibacillus polymyxa NRRL-B-30509, was microencapsulated into 1.25 g polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and, 25 or 50 mg of the materials were incorporated into one-Kg of chicken feed. One or two day old chicks were orally challenged and colonized with one (or two) of six isolates of Campylobacter jejuni, and were reared in isolation facilities. Birds were provided ad-libitum access to standard starter feed and water until 2 to 5 days before sampling, when the treated groups of birds were given therapeutic feeds. In each of the 15 trials, C. jejuni cfu per g of intestinal content were reduced by approximately one-hundred thousand fold to one-billion fold in the treated vs. the untreated chickens. As an example, among 17 day old chickens, ten of ten control birds were colonized at a mean Log10 7.58 cfu/g, while none of 16 chicks within groups treated with either 25 g or 50 mg bacteriocin/Kg of feed were colonized with C. jejuni. Therapeutic treatment dramatically reduced both levels and frequency of chick colonization by C. jejuni. Feeding bacteriocins three days before poultry processing provides control of C. jejuni in poultry and should consequently serve to effectively reduce human exposure.