Gichure, Josphat NjengaCoorey, RanilNjage, Patrick Murigu KamauDykes, Gary A.Muema, Esther K.Buys, E.M. (Elna Maria)2024-09-102024-09-102023-03-20Gichure, J.N.; Coorey, R.; Njage, P.M.K.; Dykes, G.A.; Muema, E.K.; Buys, E.M. The Microbial Genetic Diversity and Succession Associated with Processing Waters at Different Broiler Processing Stages in an Abattoir in Australia. Pathogens 2023, 12, 488. https://DOI.org/10.3390/pathogens12030488.2076-0817 (online)10.3390/pathogens12030488http://hdl.handle.net/2263/98113DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data presented in this study are available upon request from the corresponding author.The high organic content of abattoir-associated process water provides an alternative for low-cost and non-invasive sample collection. This study investigated the association of microbial diversity from an abattoir processing environment with that of chicken meat. Water samples from scalders, defeathering, evisceration, carcass-washer, chillers, and post-chill carcass rinsate were collected from a large-scale abattoir in Australia. DNA was extracted using theWizard® Genomic DNA Purification Kit, and the 16S rRNA v3-v4 gene region was sequenced using Illumina MiSeq. The results revealed that the Firmicutes decreased from scalding to evisceration (72.55%) and increased with chilling (23.47%), with the Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota changing inversely. A diverse bacterial community with 24 phyla and 392 genera was recovered from the post-chill chicken, with Anoxybacillus (71.84%), Megamonas (4.18%), Gallibacterium (2.14%), Unclassified Lachnospiraceae (1.87%), and Lactobacillus (1.80%) being the abundant genera. The alpha diversity increased from scalding to chilling, while the beta diversity revealed a significant separation of clusters at different processing points (p = 0.01). The alpha- and beta-diversity revealed significant contamination during the defeathering, with a redistribution of the bacteria during the chilling. This study concluded that the genetic diversity during the defeathering is strongly associated with the extent of the post-chill contamination, and may be used to indicate the microbial quality of the chicken meat.en© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.16S rRNA Amplicon sequencingChickenProcessing waterSlaughterhouseAbattoirsAustraliaSDG-02: Zero hungerArticle