Abstract
Obesity causes changes in microbiota composition, and an altered gut microbiota can transfer obesity-associated phenotypes from donors to recipients. Obese Rongchang pigs (RP) exhibited distinct fiber characteristics and lipid metabolic profiles in their muscle compared with lean Yorkshire pigs (YP). However, whether RP have a different gut microbiota than YP and whether there is a relationship between the microbiota and muscle properties are poorly understood. The present study was conducted to test whether the muscle properties can be transferred from pigs to germ-free (GF) mice. High-throughput pyrosequencing confirms the presence of distinct core microbiota between pig breeds, with alterations in taxonomic distribution and modulations in β diversity. RP displayed a significant higher Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and apparent genera differences compared with YP. Transplanting the porcine microbiota into GF mice replicated the phenotypes of the donors. RP and their GF mouse recipients exhibited a higher body fat mass, a higher slow-contracting fiber proportion, a decreased fiber size and fast IIb fiber percentage, and enhanced lipogenesis in the gastrocnemius muscle. Furthermore, the gut microbiota composition of colonized mice shared high similarity with their donor pigs. Taken together, the gut microbiota of obese pigs intrinsically influences skeletal muscle development and the lipid metabolic profiles.
Highlights
Obese phenotypes have a distinct gut microbiota compared with lean pigs[13]
The proportions of Treponema, YRC22, Oscillospira, Roseburia, Ruminococcus, Paludibacter, Coprococcus and Blautia were higher in Rongchang pig (RP), whereas the proportions of bacteria in Prevotella, Succinivibrio, Anaerovibrio, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Acidaminococcus, Megasphaera and Mitsuokella were higher in Yorkshire pig (YP)
The bacterial genera distribution differed between Yorkshire pig flora-associated mice (YM) and Rongchang pig flora-associated mice (RM), and several genera differences existing in the pig donors were conserved in the mouse recipients
Summary
Obese phenotypes have a distinct gut microbiota compared with lean pigs[13]. we speculated that there are significant differences in the gut microbiota compositions between YP and RP. There is substantial evidence suggesting that skeletal muscle properties including fiber characteristics, fiber type distribution and lipid metabolic profile, are closely associated with the presence of obesity[14,15]. Other accumulating indirect evidence indicates that skeletal muscle development and the metabolic profile are influenced by the ingestion of probiotics/prebiotic[19,20] Such findings make it tempting to speculate that a relationship may exist between muscle properties and the gut microbiota. Elucidating differences in the gut microbiota between obese pigs and lean pigs and the relationships between the gut microbiota and muscle properties is essential for determining the role of the gut microbiota in lipid metabolism and the development of skeletal muscle in pigs but could reflect the corresponding role of the gut microbiota in humans
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