Structure and Function of the Fecal Microbiota in Diarrheic Neonatal Piglets.

Qiaoli Yang,Shuangbao Gun,Lixia Liu,Zunqiang Yan,Shengwei Zhang,Wangzhou Huang,Wenyang Sun,Shenggui Li,Shengguo Zhao,Xiaoyu Huang,Pengfei Wang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2017.00502

Qiaoli Yang, Shuangbao Gun + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00502

Copy DOI

Abstract

Diarrhea is a leading cause of increased mortality in neonatal and young piglets. Aberration of the gut microbiota is one important factor in the etiology of piglet diarrhea. However, information regarding the structure and function of the gut microbiome in diarrheic neonatal piglets is limited. To investigate the composition and functional potential of the fecal microbiota in neonatal piglets, we performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing on 20 fecal samples from diarrheic piglets and healthy controls, and metagenomics sequencing on a subset of six samples. We found striking compositional and functional differences in fecal microbiota between diarrheic and healthy piglets. Neonatal piglet diarrhea was associated with increases in the relative abundance of Prevotella, Sutterella, and Campylobacter, as well as Fusobacteriaceae. The increased relative abundance of Prevotella was correlated with the reduction in Escherichia coli and the majority of beneficial bacteria that belonging to the Firmicutes phylum (e.g., Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Clostridium, and Blautia) in diarrheic piglets. The differentially functional gene abundances in diarrheic piglets were an increase in bacterial ribosome, and contributed primarily by the genera Prevotella, this indicates a growth advantage of the Prevotella in diarrheic conditions. Additional functional gene sets were associated with the reduction of polyamine transport, monosaccharide and sugar-specific PTS transport, amino acid transport, and two-component regulatory system. These profiles likely impact the ability to transport and uptake nutrients, as well as the ability to fight microbial infections in the piglet gut ecosystem. This work identifies a potential role for Prevotella in the community-wide microbial aberration and dysfunction that underpins the pathogenesis of piglet diarrhea. Identification of these microbial and functional signatures may provide biomarkers of neonatal piglet diarrhea.

Highlights

The gastrointestinal microbiota of newborn animals has a profound influence on the host’s health through regulating the intestinal nutritional metabolism, maturation of the immune system, and establishment of the gut barrier (Krajmalnik-Brown et al, 2012; Kabat et al, 2014)
The sequences were assigned to 14,386 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on 97% species similarity; these OTUs mapped to 18 phyla, 30 classes, 53 orders, 77 families and 128 genera
To gain insight into the compositional and functional characteristics of diarrhea-associated microbiota, we comprehensively evaluate the fecal microbiota on fecal samples of neonatal piglets using 16S rRNA gene and metagenomics sequencing

Summary

Introduction

The gastrointestinal microbiota of newborn animals has a profound influence on the host’s health through regulating the intestinal nutritional metabolism, maturation of the immune system, and establishment of the gut barrier (Krajmalnik-Brown et al, 2012; Kabat et al, 2014). Aberration in the structure and function of gut microbiota, termed microbial dysbiosis, is an important factor. Genetic predisposition and environment factors (i.e., microbial pathogens, nutrition) contribute to the development of this disease. The increased research over the past few decades has advanced our understanding the specific microbial pathogens responsible for triggering piglet diarrhea (Krause et al, 2010; Larsson et al, 2014). The gut microbiota has been viewed as a contributing factor in the etiology of piglet diarrhea (Hermann-Bank et al, 2015). The colonization of intestinal pathogenic microorganisms is markedly increased prior to disruption of the intestinal microbial composition and their beneficial functions (Ward et al, 2016). Identification of the gut microbial composition and molecular function that may be involved in the pathogenesis of neonatal piglet diarrhea may provide a new prevention strategy to control this disease

Methods

Results

Conclusion