Abstract
Abstract While a number of approaches have been developed to counter intestinal dysfunction and reduced growth during the early post-weaning period, there is a need for improvement or development of new feed additives. A trial was performed to evaluate the impact of dietary inclusion of a peptide-based commercial product (Peptiva, Vitech Biochem Corp) on the growth and fecal microbiome of nursery pigs. A total of 746 weaned pigs (5.9 ± 0.1 kg) divided between 15 control (standard nursery diet) and 15 treatment pens (control diet with Peptiva at 1, 0.5, and 0.3%, for each respective phase) received their assigned diets for 6 wks (Phase I: d0 – 7; Phase II, d8 – 21; Phase III, d22 – 42). No significant difference in body weight, daily gain, daily feed intake or gain:feed was observed between control and treatment animals (P > 0.05). Microbiome analysis was conducted using 10 fecal samples collected at the end of Phase II and 10 samples at the end of Phase III. Bacterial composition was assessed by Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) clustering of sequence data generated from PCR amplicons targeting the V1-V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Eleven OTUs were found to vary in abundance between Control Phase II and Control Phase III (P < 0.05), indicating a base diet effect on bacterial composition. Three OTUs were in lower abundance in Peptiva Phase II samples compared to Control Phase II (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed in the abundance of these three OTUs when comparing Peptiva Phase II to Control Phase III (P > 0.05). No OTUs differed in abundance between Peptiva Phase III and Control Phase III samples. These results suggest that Peptiva can modulate the composition of the swine microbiome during a specific window of the nursery stage, potentially by accelerating its maturation.
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