phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at o:1576 DOI 10.3390/pathogens12030458 XENOFOOD-An Autoclaved Feed Supplement Containing Autoclavable Antimicrobial Peptides-Exerts Anticoccidial GI Activity, and Causes Bursa Enlargement, but Has No Detectable Harmful Effects in Broiler Cockerels despite In Vitro Detectable Cytotoxicity on LHM Cells Entomopathogenic bacteria are obligate symbionts of entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) species. These bacteria biosynthesize and release non-ribosomal-templated hybrid peptides (NR-AMPs), with strong, and large-spectral antimicrobial potential, capable of inactivating pathogens belonging to different prokaryote, and eukaryote taxa. The cell-free conditioned culture media (CFCM) of Xenorhabdus budapestensis and X. szentirmaii efficiently inactivate poultry pathogens like Clostridium, Histomonas, and Eimeria. To learn whether a bio-preparation containing antimicrobial peptides of Xenorhabdus origin with accompanying (in vitro detectable) cytotoxic effects could be considered a safely applicable preventive feed supplement, we conducted a 42-day feeding experiment on freshly hatched broiler cockerels. XENOFOOD (containing autoclaved X. budapestensis, and X. szentirmaii cultures developed on chicken food) were consumed by the birds. The XENOFOOD exerted detectable gastrointestinal (GI) activity (reducing the numbers of the colony-forming Clostridium perfringens units in the lower jejunum. No animal was lost in the experiment. Neither the body weight, growth rate, feed-conversion ratio, nor organ-weight data differed between the control (C) and treated (T) groups, indicating that the XENOFOOD diet did not result in any detectable adverse effects. We suppose that the parameters indicating a moderate enlargement of bursas of Fabricius (average weight, size, and individual bursa/spleen weight-ratios) in the XENOFOOD-fed group must be an indirect indication that the bursa-controlled humoral immune system neutralized the cytotoxic ingredients of the XENOFOOD in the blood, not allowing to reach their critical cytotoxic concentration in the sensitive tissues. eng 2023-05-09T11:30:01.255Z LOMv1.0 Author BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Fodor;András; FN:András Fodor X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3495-0154 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Hess;Michael; FN:Michael Hess X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6991-0120 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Ganas;Petra; FN:Petra Ganas END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Józsa;Sándor; FN:Sándor Józsa END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Tarasco;Eustachio; FN:Eustachio Tarasco X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6310-186X END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Klein;Michael G.; FN:Michael G. Klein END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Molnár;Andor; FN:Andor Molnár END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Pál;László; FN:László Pál X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9838-6703 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Dublecz;Károly; FN:Károly Dublecz X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6913-219X END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Makrai;László; FN:László Makrai END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Hess;Claudia; FN:Claudia Hess X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3535-5157 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Vellai;Tibor; FN:Tibor Vellai END:VCARD https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/scheme https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/text Textdokument Text LOMv1.0 yes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 application/pdf 16379406 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:1576 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:1576/thumbnail LOMv1.0 discipline