title: Impact of the post-weaning nutritional history on the response to an experimental Haemonchus contortus infection in Creole goats and Black Belly sheep.
abstract: In small ruminants, the response against gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections is influenced not only by the host genotype and the physiological stage but also by environmental factors, particularly the nutritional status at the time of infection. In this study we evaluated the long-term effect and the interaction between the host species and the nutritional history on the response to GIN infection in two animal models differing in their phenotypic growth and their level of GIN resistance: Black Belly sheep and Creole goats. Lambs and kids were subjected to three distinct nutritional conditions at weaning: low dietary conditions (100% of the theoretical energy requirement for maintenance, corresponding to 548v. 484KJ/Kg BW(0.75) for lambs and kids respectively and 6% of crude protein, CP), medium dietary conditions (150% of the theoretical energy requirement for maintenance and 13% CP) and high dietary conditions (200% of the theoretical energy requirement for maintenance and 20% CP). This 3-months period was followed by a 1-month period on the medium dietary conditions for all the animals before an experimental Haemonchus contortus infection. We monitored the impact of the nutritional history (nutritional condition after weaning), on the intensity of the GIN infection by measuring individual faecal egg counts (FEC), growth rate (ADG), blood eosinophil counts and other pathophysiological parameters. The FEC, growth rate and blood eosinophil counts were significantly affected by the nutritional history in lambs but not in kids. The lowest FEC was found for lambs placed in high dietary conditions, however during the same period body weight loss was observed in this group. In low dietary conditions, kids were more resistant than lambs and the ADG was higher in lambs. However, the anaemia and the level of serum pepsinogen, marker of the abomasal mucosa integrity, were higher in kids. Our data suggest that the impact of the post-weaning nutritional history on the response to an experimental H. contortus infection is significantly affected by the host species.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, Domaine Duclos, 97170 Petit-Bourg (French West Indies), France.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ceï
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, Domaine Duclos, 97170 Petit-Bourg (French West Indies), France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Salah
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, Domaine Duclos, 97170 Petit-Bourg (French West Indies), France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paut
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Domaine expérimental de Gardel, 97160 Moule, Guadeloupe, France.
authors.forename: P-J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Dumoulin
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Domaine expérimental de Gardel, 97160 Moule, Guadeloupe, France.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arquet
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, Domaine Duclos, 97170 Petit-Bourg (French West Indies), France.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Félicité
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, Domaine Duclos, 97170 Petit-Bourg (French West Indies), France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alexandre
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, Domaine Duclos, 97170 Petit-Bourg (French West Indies), France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Archimède
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, Domaine Duclos, 97170 Petit-Bourg (French West Indies), France. Electronic address: jean-christophe.bambou@antilles.inra.fr.
authors.forename: J-C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bambou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001772:Blood Cell Count / Q000662:veterinary; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D004804:Eosinophils; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006041:Goats; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology; D006188:Haemonchiasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006189:Haemonchus / Q000502:physiology; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D010270:Parasite Egg Count / Q000662:veterinary; D020116:Pepsinogen A / Q000097:blood; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014886:Weaning
chemical_list: D020116:Pepsinogen A
keywords: Goats; Growth performance; Infection; Nutritional status; Sheep