181 Evaluation of the Fecal Microbiota in Commercial Sows with Variable Risk for Pelvic Organ Prolapse During Late Gestation

Abstract

Abstract Sow mortality has increased during the last decade with a large portion due to pelvic organ prolapse (POP) manifesting during late gestation and early lactation. Approximately 21% of sow mortality is attributed to POP, creating a significant economic and animal welfare concern. The study objective was to identify differences in sow fecal microbiota associated with POP risk and to determine if fecal and vaginal microbial communities are correlated. Using an established perineal scoring (PS) system, 2,864 sows were assigned PS1 (low), PS2 (moderate), or PS3 (high) based on phenotypic observations and presumed POP risk during gestation week 15. Of those sows scored, 1.0%, 2.7%, and 23.4% of PS1, PS2, and PS3 assigned sows, respectively, subsequently experienced POP. At the time of scoring, fecal swabs were collected from sows (n = 213) and DNA was extracted for 16S rRNA gene Illumina MiSeq sequencing, and analyzed using mothur, phyloseq and SAS. Additionally, co-occurrence networks were constructed between fecal and vaginal microbial communities using CoNet (V1.1.1), to identify correlations in taxa abundance. Differences in fecal community composition (PERMANOVA; P < 0.05), structure (alpha diversity measurements; P < 0.05), and 13 individual operational taxonomic units (OTU; Q < 0.05) were detected between PS1 and PS3 sows. The abundance of several taxa were correlated across sample collection sites, suggesting the fecal and vaginal microbial communities may influence one another. Collectively, fewer differences exist in fecal microbiota in sows differing risk for POP than previously observed in vaginal microbiota, suggesting the vaginal microbial communities may be a better indicator of POP risk. Understanding correlations between the fecal and vaginal microbial communities may provide strategies or targets for combatting POP. This project was supported by the National Pork Board and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.