Abstract
Making full use of high fiber and low-cost crop coproducts is helpful to alleviate the situation of people and livestock competing for crops. Digestion of dietary fibers in pigs is mainly through microbial fermentation in the large intestine. To reveal microbiota related to fiber digestion in pigs, fecal samples have been collected from 274 healthy female Suhuai pigs at 160 days of age under the same feeding conditions and have measured apparent neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility. Samples from Suhuai pigs with extreme high and low apparent NDF digestibility and extreme high and low apparent ADF digestibility were subjected to shotgun metagenomic sequencing. At the species level, 62 microbial species in H_NDF group and 54 microbial species in H_ADF group were related to high fiber digestibility. Among them, Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3-1 and Alistipes sp. CAG:514 may be new types of microorganisms associated with fiber digestion. In addition, we found that more abundant GH5 and GH48 family (contribute to cellulose degradation) genes, GH39 and GH53 family (contribute to hemicellulose degradation) genes in microorganisms may contribute to the higher apparent NDF digestibility of pigs, and more abundant GH3 and GH9 family (contribute to cellulose degradation) genes in microorganisms may contribute to the higher apparent ADF digestibility of pigs. The abundance of AA4 family (helps in lignin degradation) genes in H_NDF and H_ADF groups was significantly higher than that in L_NDF and L_ADF groups, respectively (P < 0.05). Three pathways in H_NDF group and four pathways in H_ADF group are important pathways associated with degradation of non-starch polysaccharides, and their relative abundance is significantly higher than that in L_NDF and L_ADF groups, respectively. Gut microbiota of Suhuai pigs with high apparent fiber digestibility had higher abundance of genes and microbiota related to fiber digestion and may have stronger fiber digestion potential compared with low apparent fiber digestibility group. This study revealed that the characteristics of gut microbiota and microbial gene functions of pigs with high fiber apparent digestibility, which provided a theoretical basis and reference for further understanding the impact of gut microbiota on fiber digestibility of pigs.
Highlights
Corn and soybean meal are the main components of high energy and high protein diets for pigs and are the main raw materials of food products for human consumption, fermentation, and bioenergy industry (Sevillano et al, 2018)
By analyzing the functional differences of intestinal microbial composition and function in Suhuai pigs, we found that there were significant differences in the microorganisms related to fiber degradation and gene families with cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, or lignin degrading activity between H_NDF and L_NDF groups and H_ADF and L_ADF groups
We found that the proportion of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in pig intestinal tract was inconsistent between high and low apparent fiber digestibility groups
Summary
Corn and soybean meal are the main components of high energy and high protein diets for pigs and are the main raw materials of food products for human consumption, fermentation, and bioenergy industry (Sevillano et al, 2018). Non-conventional feedstuffs (NCFs) are coproducts of crop processing, which have the characteristics of high fiber content and low cost. The use of NCF is an effective measure to solve the shortage of feed raw materials in the feed industry and helps to reduce the cost of livestock products (Negesse et al, 2009). How to make full use of agricultural by-products in pig industry is important This is conducive to improve the income of raising pigs and alleviate the competition for grain between people and animals. In order to make full use of locally grown feedstuffs and reduce the cost of raising pigs, a variety of fibrous coproducts, such as wheat bran, rice bran, and soybean bran, are added to the pig diet (Agyekum and Nyachoti, 2017)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
