The trial was carried out in the maternity of a pig commercial farm, on three sows with 9 piglets each, during the first 3 days of life of the latter. We monitored the piglets for 72 hours daily from ...the point of view of the number of feedings per mammary gland to quantify the degree of use and milk production in relation with the anatomical location of the mammary glands. We could see there are daily variations of the daily weight gain in relation to their body weight at birth, and that mammary glands were differently used, i.e. the number of feedings is higher in pectoral mammary glands. Mean milk production per feeding varied between 14.49 and 59.73 ml, depending on the anatomical position and on the number of secreting cells in the mammary glands.
Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a disease that has a devastating effect on livestock. Currently, most studies are focused on comparing gut microbiota of healthy piglets and piglets with PED, ...resulting in gut microbial populations related to dynamic change in diarrheal piglets being poorly understood. The current study analyzed the characteristics of gut microbiota in porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV)-infected piglets during the suckling transition stage. Fresh fecal samples were collected from 1 to 3-week-old healthy piglets (
= 20) and PEDV infected piglets (
= 18) from the same swine farm. Total DNA was extracted from each sample and the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Statistically significant differences were observed in bacterial diversity and richness between the healthy and diarrheal piglets. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) showed structural segregation between diseased and healthy groups, as well as among 3 different age groups. The abundance of
,
,
, and
increased due to dysbiosis induced by PEDV infection. Notably, there was a remarkable age-related increase in
and
in diarrheal piglets. Certain SCFA-producing bacteria, such as
,
, and
, were shared by all healthy piglets, but were not identified in various age groups of diarrheal piglets. In addition, significant differences were observed between clusters of orthologous groups (COG) functional categories of healthy and PEDV-infected piglets. Our findings demonstrated that PEDV infection caused severe perturbations in porcine gut microbiota. Therefore, regulating gut microbiota in an age-related manner may be a promising method for the prevention or treatment of PEDV.
Suckling piglets were used to investigate the response of colonic mucosa-associated microbiota composition, mucosal immune homeostasis, and barrier function to early life galactooligosaccharides ...(GOS) intervention. Ten milliliter 1 g/kg body weight GOS solutions and physiological saline solutions were fed to the newborn piglets in the GOS group and in the control (CON) group a week time, respectively. Six piglets from each group were euthanized on day 8 and day 21. GOS piglets had a higher abundance of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) producer such as Prevotella, Barnesiella, Parabacteroides, and Unclassified Porphyromonadaceae in colonic mucosa (P < 0.05). In addition, the total SCFAs level in colonic digesta of GOS piglets increased on day 8 (P < 0.05) and day 21 (P = 0.064). Meanwhile, a higher SCFAs concentration in colon of the GOS piglets altered the gene expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and IL-10) and barrier proteins (ZO-1 and Claudin-1) through regulating the phosphorylation of the NFκB and AMPK signaling pathway. In summary, these results provide important insights and understandings to reveal the relationship between the mucosal microbiota colonization and intestinal function at the early life stage of piglets.
In modern swine husbandry systems, antibiotics have been used as growth promoters for piglets during suckling or weaning period. However, while early colonization of intestinal microbiota has been ...regarded crucial for the host's later life performance and well-being, little is known about the impact of antibiotics on intestinal microbiota in suckling piglets. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of early antibiotics exposure on gut microbiota and microbial metabolism of suckling piglets. Sixteen litters of suckling piglets were fed a creep feed diet with (Antibiotic) or without (Control) antibiotics from postnatal days 7-23 (
= 8). The ileal and cecal digesta were obtained for microbial composition and microbial metabolites analysis. The results showed that the antibiotics significantly altered the bacterial community composition by decreasing (
< 0.05) the diversity and richness in the ileum. The antibiotics significantly reduced the abundance of
in both the ileum and cecum, increased the abundance of
, unclassified Enterococcaceae, unclassified Fusobacteriales, and
in the ileum, and the abundance of unclassified Ruminococcaceae and unclassified Erysipelotrichaceae in the cecum. The antibiotics decreased (
< 0.05) ileal lactate concentration and cecal concentration of total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). But the antibiotics enhanced protein fermentation (
< 0.05) in the ileum and cecum, as ileal concentrations of putrescine and cadaverine, and cecal concentrations of isobutyrate, isovalerate, putrescine, cadaverine, spermine, and spermidine were significantly increased (
< 0.05). These results indicated that early antibiotics exposure significantly altered the microbial composition of suckling piglets toward a vulnerable and unhealthy gut environment. The findings provide a new insight on the antibiotics impact on neonates and may provide new framework for designing alternatives to the antibiotics toward a healthy practice for suckling piglets.
Abstract
The present study used intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) piglets as an animal model to determine the effect of Bacillus subtilis on intestinal integrity, antioxidant capacity, and ...microbiota in the jejunum of suckling piglets. In total, 8 normal birth weight (NBW) newborn piglets (1.62 ± 0.10 kg) and 16 newborn IUGR piglets (0.90 ± 0.08 kg) were selected and assigned to three groups. Piglets were orally gavaged with 10-mL sterile saline (NBW and IUGR groups), and IUGR piglets were orally gavaged with 10-mL/d bacterial fluid (B. subtilis diluted in sterile saline, gavage in the dose of 2 × 109 colony-forming units per kg of body weight; IBS group; n = 8). IUGR induced jejunal barrier dysfunction and redox status imbalance of piglets, and changed the abundances of bacteria in the jejunum. Treatment with B. subtilis increased (P < 0.05) the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (VH/CD) in the jejunum, decreased (P < 0.05) the plasma diamine oxidase (DAO) activity, and enhanced (P < 0.05) the gene expressions of zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), occludin, and claudin-1 in the jejunum of IUGR piglets. Treatment with B. subtilis decreased (P < 0.05) the concentration of protein carbonyl (PC) and increased (P < 0.05) the activities of catalase (CAT) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) in the jejunum of IUGR piglets. Treatment with B. subtilis also increased (P < 0.05) gene expressions of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), CAT, and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2), as well as the protein expressions of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), SOD1, and Nrf2 in the jejunum of IUGR piglets. Treatment with B. subtilis also improved the abundances and the community structure of bacteria in the jejunum of IUGR piglets. These results suggested that IUGR damaged the jejunal barrier function and antioxidant capacity of suckling piglets, and altered the abundances of bacteria in the jejunum. Treatment with B. subtilis improved the intestinal integrity and antioxidant capacity while also improved the abundances and structure of bacteria in the jejunum of suckling piglets.
Sialyllactose (SL) is an abundant carbohydrate in sow’s colostrum, but decreases during the first few days of lactation. Here, we investigated its effect on growth performance and intestinal ...epithelium development in pigs during the suckling period. Sixteen litters of suckling piglets were divided into two groups (Control and SL group). All piglets were breast fed and the SL group was orally administrated with 4 g SL per day for 21 d. Results showed that SL administration increased the litter weight (P = 0.043) and tended to elevate the average body weight (P = 0.084) at weaning. The serum concentrations of immunoglobulin G and glutathione peroxidase were elevated, but the concentrations of tumor necrosis factor α, malondialdehyde, and diamine oxidase were decreased upon SL administration (P < 0.05). Moreover, SL administration elevated the villus height, the ratio of villus height to crypt depth, and the activities of lactase and sucrase in jejunum (P < 0.05), and decreased the total apoptotic cells in ileal epithelium (P = 0.003). The expression levels of tight-junction protein ZO-1 in the jejunum and ileum, and critical functional genes such as the glucose transporter 2, divalent metal transporter 1, and insulin growth factor 1 receptor in the jejunum were elevated by SL supplementation (P < 0.05). Importantly, SL increased butyric acid concentration, and elevated the abundances of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in cecum (P < 0.05). These results suggest that SL could improve the growth performance of suckling piglets, which was associated with improved immunity and antioxidant capacity, as well as the intestinal barrier functions.
•Siallyllactose improves growth performance and immunity of suckling piglets.•Siallyllactose improves intestinal mucosa morphology and microbiota.•Siallyllactose may act as a novel prebiotic that is helpful for mammalian neonates.
•Sows and litters represent a small fraction of the total herd costs (15%–17% of the total feeding) but, are the herd engine.•Energy and SID lysine requirements for all sows are not fulfilled by ...using a single feed along the whole gestation.•Higher lysine and nutrient concentration to be fed to gilts and sows on late gestation to all sows.•Individually adjusted feed intake curves and control of tissue mobilization is recommended during lactation.•Accurate feeding strategies applied and combined between sows and piglets may have an impact on post-weaning performance.
The main goal of the swine industry is to achieve more efficient pig production and maximize their economic return, reaching high-quality pig products without compromising animal welfare or environmental issues. But this can be only reached with a complete, efficient herd including all of the physiological phases, gilts, sows, litters, nursery pigs and growing-finishing pigs until slaughter. However, as sows and litters only contribute with a small fraction of the total herd costs, not enough attention has been paid to the earliest steps in pork production. Therefore, proper feeding strategies applied and combined between sows and their litters may represent a carry-over effect until slaughter and may contribute to optimize herd profitability by achieving proper sow longevity, litter size and weight, piglet performance and body weight variability. All of them are overlapped items, finally contributing to and accounting for the efficient and competitiveness of the swine industry.
A farrow-to-finish operation with 160 sows had periodic outbreaks of diarrhea. During the outbreaks, which recurred every 2 to 4 weeks, only suckling piglets that were 1 to 3 days old developed ...diarrhea. All the piglets that developed diarrhea were treated symptomatically and recovered in 3 to 5 days. Barely any negative effects on mortality and daily gain were observed on the farm. Necropsies of the piglets revealed thinning of the small intestinal wall. Histopathological examinations revealed atrophy of the intestinal villi and vacuolization of the mucosal epithelial cells of the small intestine. Only the piglets that developed diarrhea were positive for group C rotavirus (RVC) by RT-PCR, which suggests that the outbreaks of diarrhea were associated with RVC infection.
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