Campylobacteriosis is the leading foodborne bacterial diarrheal illness in many countries, with up to 80% of human cases attributed to the avian reservoir. The only control strategies currently available are stringent on-farm biosecurity and carcass treatments. Heritable differences in the resistance of chicken lines to Campylobacter colonization have been reported and resistance-associated quantitative trait loci are emerging, although their impact on colonization appears modest. Recent studies indicated a protective role of the microbiota against colonization by Campylobacter in chickens. Furthermore, in murine models, differences in resistance to bacterial infections can be partially transferred between lines by transplantation of gut microbiota. In this study, we investigated whether heritable differences in colonization of inbred chicken lines by Campylobacter jejuni are associated with differences in cecal microbiota. We performed homologous and heterologous cecal microbiota transplants between line 6₁ (resistant) and line N (susceptible) by orally administering cecal contents collected from 3-week-old donors to day-of-hatch chicks. Recipient birds were challenged (day 21) with C. jejuni 11168H. In birds given homologous microbiota, the differential resistance of lines to C. jejuni colonization was reproduced. Contrary to our hypothesis, transfer of cecal microbiota from line 6₁ to line N significantly increased C. jejuni colonization. No significant difference in the overall composition of the cecal microbial communities of the two lines was identified, although line-specific differences for specific operational taxonomic units were identified. Our data suggest that while heritable differences in avian resistance to Campylobacter colonization exist, these are not explained by significant variation in the cecal microbiota.

IMPORTANCE Campylobacter is a leading cause of foodborne diarrheal disease worldwide. Poultry are a key source of human infections, but there are currently few effective measures against Campylobacter in poultry during production. One option to control Campylobacter may be to alter the composition of microbial communities in the avian intestines by introducing beneficial bacteria, which exclude the harmful ones. We previously described two inbred chicken lines which differ in resistance to intestinal colonization by Campylobacter. Here, we investigated the composition of the microbial communities in the gut of these lines and whether transferring gut bacteria between the resistant and susceptible lines alters their resistance to Campylobacter. No major differences in microbial populations were found, and resistance or susceptibility to colonization was not conferred by transferring gut bacteria between lines. The data suggest that gut microbiota did not play a role in resistance to Campylobacter colonization, at least in the lines used.

弯曲杆菌病是许多国家中主要的食源性细菌性腹泻病，多达80％的人类病例归因于禽类水库。当前唯一可用的控制策略是严格的农场生物安全性和car体处理。已经报道了鸡系对弯曲杆菌定植的抗性的遗传差异，并且抗药性相关的数量性状基因座正在出现，尽管它们对定植的影响似乎不大。最近的研究表明微生物菌群对弯曲杆菌的定殖具有保护作用。在鸡里。此外，在鼠模型中，对细菌感染的抵抗力差异可以通过肠道菌群的移植在不同系间部分转移。在这项研究中，我们调查了空肠弯曲菌在近交鸡系定植中的遗传差异是否与盲肠菌群的差异相关。我们通过将3周龄供体的盲肠内容物口服给孵化日雏鸡，在6 ₁行（抗性）和N行（易感）之间进行了同源和异源盲肠微生物群移植。用空肠弯曲杆菌11168H攻击接收鸟（第21天）。在具有同源微生物群的鸟类中，品系对空肠弯曲杆菌的抗性差异繁殖繁殖。与我们的假设相反，盲肠菌群从6 ₁系转移到N系显着增加了空肠弯曲杆菌的定殖。尽管确定了特定操作分类单位的特定于行的差异，但未确定两条系的盲肠微生物群落的总体组成有显着差异。我们的数据表明，虽然禽类对弯曲杆菌定植的抵抗力存在可遗传的差异，但盲肠微生物群的显着变化不能解释这些差异。

重要 弯曲杆菌是全世界食源性腹泻病的主要原因。家禽是人类感染的主要来源，但是目前在生产过程中很少有针对家禽弯曲杆菌的有效措施。控制弯曲杆菌的一种选择可能是通过引入有益细菌（不包括有害细菌）来改变禽肠中微生物群落的组成。我们先前描述了两种自交系鸡，它们对弯曲杆菌的肠道定殖的抵抗力不同。在这里，我们调查了这些品系肠道中微生物群落的组成，以及在抗性和易感品系之间转移肠道细菌是否会改变其对弯曲杆菌。没有发现微生物种群的主要差异，并且通过在各系之间转移肠道细菌也没有赋予对定植的抗性或敏感性。数据表明，肠道菌群至少在所用品系中不对弯曲杆菌定植产生抗性。