Research Note: Clostridium perfringens NetB and CnaA neutralizing nanobodies in feed reduce the incidence of poultry necrotic enteritis

Necrotic enteritis is a devastating disease to poultry caused by the bacterium Clostridium perfringens. As a novel approach to combating poultry necrotic enteritis, we identified and characterized several hundred single domain antibody fragments (or nanobodies) capable of binding either the NetB toxin or the collagen-binding adhesin (CnaA) of C. perfringens. Many of the nanobodies could neutralize the in vitro functions of NetB or CnaA with inhibitory concentrations in the nanomolar range. The nanobodies were also screened for proteolytic stability in an extract derived from gastrointestinal tract fluids of chickens. A collection of 6 nanobodies (4 targeting NetB and 2 targeting CnaA) with high neutralizing activity and high gastrointestinal tract extract stability were expressed and secreted by Pichia pastoris or Bacillus subtilis. Chickens were given a feed with 1 of the 2 nanobody-containing groups: 1) nanobody-containing P. pastoris supernatants that were semi-purified, lyophilized, and enterically coated, or 2) B. subtilis spores from strains containing the nanobody genes. Compared to untreated chickens (23.75% mortality), mortality of chickens receiving feed modified with the P. pastoris and B. subtilis products decreased to 11.25 and 7.5%, respectively. These results offer a new opportunity to improve the control of poultry necrotic enteritis by incorporating highly specific nanobodies or bacteria expressing these nanobodies directly into chicken feed.