Abstract
BackgroundDespite recent advances in the understanding of the swine gut microbiome at different growth stages, a comprehensive longitudinal study of the lifetime (birth to market) dynamics of the swine gut microbiome is lacking.ResultsTo fill in this gap of knowledge, we repeatedly collected a total of 273 rectal swabs from 18 pigs during lactation (day (d) 0, 11, 20), nursery (d 27, 33, 41, 50, 61), growing (d 76, 90, 104, 116), and finishing (d 130, 146, 159, 174) stages. DNA was extracted and subjected to sequencing with an Illumina Miseq sequencer targeting the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Sequences were analyzed with the Deblur algorithm in the QIIME2 package. A total of 19 phyla were detected in the lifetime pig gut microbiome with Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes being the most abundant. Alpha diversity including community richness (e.g., number of observed features) and diversity (e.g., Shannon index) showed an overall increasing trend. Distinct shifts in microbiome structure along different growth stages were observed. LEfSe analysis revealed 91 bacterial features that are stage-specific. To validate these discoveries, we performed fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) by inoculating weanling pigs with mature fecal microbiota from a growing stage pig. Similar stage-specific patterns in microbiome diversity and structures were also observed in both the FMT pigs and their littermates. Although FMT remarkably increased growth performance, it did not change the overall swine gut microbiome. Only a few taxa including those associated with Streptococcus and Clostridiaceae were enriched in the FMT pigs. These data, together with several other lines of evidence, indicate potential roles these taxa play in promoting animal growth performance. Diet, especially crude fiber from corn, was a major factor shaping the swine gut microbiome. The priority effect, i.e., the order and timing of species arrival, was more evident in the solid feed stages.ConclusionsThe distinct stage-associated swine gut microbiome may be determined by the differences in diet and/or gut physiology at different growth stages. Our study provides insight into mechanisms governing gut microbiome succession and also underscores the importance of optimizing stage-specific probiotics aimed at improving animal health and production.
Highlights
Despite recent advances in the understanding of the swine gut microbiome at different growth stages, a comprehensive longitudinal study of the lifetime dynamics of the swine gut microbiome is lacking
After rarefaction of sample reads to 4000, a total of 3254 features (1,080,000 total reads) from 270 samples were included for downstream analysis of the swine gut microbial community dynamics
A high microbial diversity including the number of observed bacterial features and the Shannon index was observed in the meconium (d 0), comparable to the diversity of the adult pigs in this study (Fig. 1a, b), as well as to those of sows from other trials (Additional file 1: Figure S1a and b)
Summary
Despite recent advances in the understanding of the swine gut microbiome at different growth stages, a comprehensive longitudinal study of the lifetime (birth to market) dynamics of the swine gut microbiome is lacking. The correlation between swine gut microbiome and animal health and production during critical growth stages has been characterized in several studies [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Modulation of the swine gut microbiome via probiotics and/or prebiotics to maintain a healthy microbiome has been a promising means of preventing pathogens and promoting beneficial bacteria abundances [7]. Bacterial taxa such as Christensenellaceae, Oscillibacter, Defluviitaleaceae incertae sedis, Cellulosilyticum, and Corynebacterium have been positively related to feed efficiency [8], which is critical for the swine industry. Recent studies have filled some knowledge gaps of the swine gut microbiome, with respect to the biogeography of the gastrointestinal tract [5], adiposity [3], digestibility [4], and growth performance [6]
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