Abstract
In order to study the potential for efficient fiber degradation by intestinal microorganisms in Diqing Tibetan pigs, we first investigated the dietary structure of Diqing Tibetan pigs in their original habitat, then 60 healthy adult Diqing Tibetan pigs were randomly divided into 2 groups with 6 replicates each and 5 pigs in each replicate. The content of neutral detergent fiber in treatment 1 and 2 were adjusted to 20% and 40%, respectively. The total tract digestibility of nutrients and the degradation efficiency of fecal microorganisms to different types of fiber were determined. Results showed that the composition and nutritional level of Diqing Tibetan pig original diet differed greatly in different seasons. The content of crude fiber in the original diet was as high as 12.3% and the neutral detergent fiber was 32.5% in April, while the content of crude fiber was 4.9% and the neutral detergent fiber was 13.3% in October. With the increase of dietary fiber level, the total tract apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude fiber, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, ether extract, and organic matter decreased significantly (p < 0.05), and the contents of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid in the feces were also significantly (p < 0.05) reduced. The ability of Diqing Tibetan pig fecal microorganisms to degrade neutral detergent fiber was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than “Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire” pig. In addition, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the degradation efficiency of the same type of fiber between NDF-20 and NDF-40 groups. Our results strongly suggested that Diqing Tibetan pigs have the potential to efficiently utilize fiber, and their unique intestinal microbial composition is the main reason for their efficient utilization of dietary fiber.
Highlights
Tibetan pigs are a rare plateau-type pig breed that have the capacity to adapt to the low oxygen environment of a plateau region with strong resistance to adversity
The results showed that the composition and nutritional level of Diqing Tibetan pigs’
The results of nutritional analysis show that the content of CF in the original diet was 12.34% and NDF was 32.49%, which provides evidence for the ability of Diqing Tibetan pigs to tolerate roughage
Summary
Tibetan pigs are a rare plateau-type pig breed that have the capacity to adapt to the low oxygen environment of a plateau region with strong resistance to adversity. They are mainly found in high altitude areas (altitudes = 2500–3500 m) such as Yunnan and Tibet in. The research on the Diqing Tibetan pig mainly focuses on growth and development [1,2], meat quality [3], and reproductive performance [4,5], while relatively little research has been done on the mechanisms of their herbivory. Previous reports have mostly focused on the roughage tolerance of Diqing Tibetan pigs, while little has been reported on their ability to utilize fiber efficiently.
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