title: Toxicological effects of dietary nickel chloride on intestinal microbiota.
abstract: This study was designed to evaluate the toxicological effect of dietary nickel chloride (NiCl2) on the counts of intestinal bacteria and diversity of microorganisms in broilers. Plate counting and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) assays were used. A total of 240 one-day-old avian broilers chicks were divided into four equal groups and kept on corn-soybean basal diet along with supplementation of 0, 300, 600 and 900 mg/kg NiCl2 for 42 days. Samples were taken at 21 and 42 days of age during the experiment. The bacterial count results showed that dietary NiCl2 in the range of 300 to 900 mg/kg decreased the counts of Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus, increased Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Enterococcus spp. in the ileum and cecum. PCR-DGGE analysis showed that bacterial band numbers, profile similarity, and the Shannon index of the ileum and cecum were all decreased in the 300, 600, and 900 mg/kg groups at 21 and 42 days of age. In conclusion, dietary NiCl2 affected the amount and diversity of intestinal microbiota in the ileum and cecum of broilers. This finding implies that NiCl2 has toxicological effect on the intestinal ecosystem and, possibly functions.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, Ya'an, China. Electronic address: wubangyuan2008@163.com.
authors.forename: Bangyuan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, Ya'an, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: cuihengmin2008@sina.com.
authors.forename: Hengmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, Ya'an, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, Ya'an, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Kangcheng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, Ya'an, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, Ya'an, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Zhicai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, Ya'an, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Junliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, Ya'an, China.
authors.forename: Jianying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D058491:Bacterial Load / Q000187:drug effects; D044822:Biodiversity; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology; D002645:Chickens; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D058645:Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000633:toxicity*; D007082:Ileum / Q000382:microbiology; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D064307:Microbiota / Q000187:drug effects*; D009532:Nickel / Q000633:toxicity*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: C022838:nickel chloride; D009532:Nickel
keywords: Bacterial counts; Broiler; Intestine; Microorganism diversity; Nickel chloride