This study investigated digestive and absorptive function changes and microbiota adaptations during weaning in nursery pigs from parents with divergent estimated breeding values for feed conversion ratio (EBV_FCR). The research aimed to investigate whether these changes differed between two groups: pigs from high EBV_FCR (low efficiency, LE) parents and pigs from low EBV_FCR (high efficiency, HE) parents. Furthermore, digesta samples from duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon, and cecum were collected from 56-day-old post-weaned pigs and subjected to microbiota analysis using 16S rRNA gene profiling. Enzyme activity kinetics and gene expression analyses of nutrient transporters in various segments of the digestive tract showed no significant differences between the two groups. Tight junction proteins gene expression also showed no significant differences in the jejunum between the two groups. Microbiota analysis revealed consistent dominance of Firmicutes in the jejunum and ileum, with Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes prevalent in the cecum and colon across both groups. However, significant differences were observed at the genus level. Lactobacillus was predominant in the small intestine of HE pigs, while the large intestine of LE pigs harbored higher levels of Prevotella, Streptococcus, and Blautia compared to HE pigs. These differences suggest potential functional differences that warrant further investigation.
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