Date of Graduation
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Poultry Science
Advisor/Mentor
Alrubaye, Adnan
Committee Member
Rogers, Lauren
Second Committee Member
Orlowski, Sara
Abstract
Broiler chicken lameness has become prevalent in recent years due to high growth rates in broilerchickens. Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO), the main cause of lameness, is characterized by necrosis of femoral and tibial heads in affected birds. Heavier birds are more susceptible to mechanical stress in these regions, which results in microfractures, leading to lameness. BCO lameness poses huge financial pressure to the poultry industry, as 14-50% of flocks can become affected during outbreaks. The purpose of this experiment was to identify bacterial species present in birds with BCO lameness. A total of 1,560 chicks were randomly distributed into 26 pens, 2 with wire floors and 24 with litter floors. The wire-flooring acted as a positive control to spread the lameness-causing bacteria through aerosol to birds raised on litter floor pens for feed treatments. During this study, birds that were unable to walk when prompted were diagnosed as lame and culled. All lame birds were necropsied, and bacteria were isolated from the blood and bone lesions found on the femoral and tibial heads. Once bacteria were grown on agar plates, individual colonies were re-cultured for further species identification using 16s ribosomal RNA sequencing. The results showed that the main bacterial species causing lameness in this research trial were Staphylococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., and Escherichia coli. Identifying the bacterial species causing lameness is crucial to help develop mitigation measures to reduce lameness in broiler chickens. Thus, this experiment is anticipated to help develop BCO treatments that strengthen the bone and improve the immune response against distinct bacteria. More research is needed to study the virulence of Staphylococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., and Escherichia coli to reduce lameness caused by bacterial infection.
Keywords
Broiler; Lameness; Bacterial Species Identification; Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis; 16s Ribosomal RNA Sequencing
Citation
Hoover, K. (2025). Utilizing 16s Ribosomal RNA Sequencing to Identify Bacterial Species Colonizing Lame Birds with Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis. Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/anscuht/70
