Lactobacillus sp. participated inthe adaptation ofRongchang piglets tocold stress.

Abstract

Rongchang piglets were easily induced tocold stress and diarrhoea inthe winter when raised inan open hog house. However, they also gradually recovered under mid-cold stress. Other studies have suggested gut microbiome might beinvolved inthe host energy metabolism torelieve stress. Tostudy how toadapt Rongchang piglets tocold stress bygut microbiome, thirty Rongchang piglets were randomly divided into amild cold stress group and acontrol group for 30consecutive days. The findings revealed that the piglets had low growth performance and ahigh diarrhoea rate and mortality rate during the first half ofthe cold treatment, but subsequently stabilised. The level ofcortisol (COR) also displayed asimilar trend. Inthe mild cold stress group, the relative abundance ofMuribaculaceae significantly increased onday15, and the predominant bacterial onday30 was Lactobacillus sp. Our results indicated that the Rongchang piglet's production performance and health were impaired atthe start ofthe mild cold stress. However, astime passed, the body could progressively adapt tothe low temperature, and Lactobacillus sp. participated inthis process. This study provides new insight into how toalleviate health damage caused bycold stress.