Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of exogenous fecal microbiota transplantation on gut bacterial community structure, gut barrier and growth performance in recipient piglets. Twelve litters of Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets of the same birth and parity were weighed and divided into two groups. One group (recipient piglets) was inoculated orally with fecal microbiota suspension of healthy adult Jinhua pigs daily from day 1 to day 11. The other (control) was given orally the same volume of sterile physiological saline at the same time. The experiment lasted 27 days. The results showed that the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcus, Prevotella, and Oscillospira in the colon of recipient piglets was increased. Proteobacteria, Fusobacteriaceae, Clostridiaceae, Pasteuriaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Bacteroidaceae, Veillonellaceae, Sutterella, Escherichia, and Bacteroides in the colon of recipient piglets were decreased. An average daily weight gain of recipient piglets was increased, and diarrhea incidence of the recipient was decreased during the trial. Intestinal morphology and tight junction barrier of recipient piglets were improved. The optical density of sIgA+ cells, the number of goblet cells and relative expressions of MUC2 in the intestinal mucosa of recipient piglets were enhanced. Protein expressions of β-defensin 2 and mRNA expressions of TLR2 and TLR4 in the intestinal mucosa of recipient piglets were also increased. These findings supported that the exogenous fecal microbiota had significant effects on animal’s growth performance, intestinal barrier function, and innate immune via modulating the composition of the gut microbiota.
Highlights
Intestinal microbial flora plays an important role in human and animal health, it has attracted more and more attention in recent years
The gut microbiotas of all pigs were dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Fusobacteria
Firmicutes and Bacteroides accounted for 89–98% and were the absolute superiority in gut microbial flora composition of FIGURE 1 | 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed the colonic bacterial community structure of piglets orally treated with or without exogenous fecal microflora JH, Jinhua pigs
Summary
Intestinal microbial flora plays an important role in human and animal health, it has attracted more and more attention in recent years. A healthy human intestine contains more than 1014 bacteria, which is 10 times the number of all cells in the body (Koboziev et al, 2014). As it has a close relationship with absorption of nutrients, colonization resistance, development of the immune system and other functions in host, intestinal microbial flora is known as an essential. Diseases caused by imbalance of intestinal microbiota can be treated by treatments involving microbiota, such as probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and FMT (fecal microbiota transplantation) (Ho et al, 2015). The connections between FMT, the structural changes of gut microbiota and improvements of intestinal health in recipients as well as the mechanism underlying these effects are not fully illustrated
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
