Temporal dynamics in the composition of metabolically active bacteria and fungi in the ileo-cecal lymph nodes of suckling and newly weaned piglets.

The early microbial colonization of the porcine gut is an important priming factor for gut and immune development. Nevertheless, little is known about the composition of microbes that translocate into the ileo-cecal lymph nodes (ICLN) in the neonatal phase. This study aimed to characterize age- and nutrition-related changes in the metabolically active bacterial and fungal composition of the ICLN in suckling and newly weaned piglets.

Lactation-related dynamics of bacterial and fungal microbiomes in feces of sows and gut colonization in suckling and newly weaned piglets.

Changes in the gut microbial composition of the sow during lactation may influence the gut microbial colonization in their offspring, for which less information was available in the literature. This study aimed to assess: 1) the changes that occur in the bacterial and fungal communities in sow feces during the 28-d lactation period as well as in gastric and cecal digesta of piglets until one week after weaning, and 2) bacterial and fungal taxa in cecal digesta of the piglets postweaning that associate with fecal consistency. Aside from sow milk, piglets had access to creep feed from day of life (DoL) 3.

Variations in colostrum metabolite profiles in association with sow parity.

Information about the full spectrum of metabolites present in porcine colostrum and factors that influence metabolite abundances is still incomplete. Parity number appears to modulate the concentration of single metabolites in colostrum. This study aimed to 1) characterize the metabolome composition and 2) assess the effect of parity on metabolite profiles in porcine colostrum.

An insight into the temporal dynamics in the gut microbiome, metabolite signaling, immune response, and barrier function in suckling and weaned piglets under production conditions.

Little information is available on age- and creep-feeding-related microbial and immune development in neonatal piglets. Therefore, we explored age- and gut-site-specific alterations in the microbiome, metabolites, histo-morphology, and expression of genes for microbial signaling, as well as immune and barrier function in suckling and newly weaned piglets that were receiving sow milk only or were additionally offered creep feed from day of life (DoL) 10. The experiment was conducted in two replicate batches.

Temporal Microbial Dynamics in Feces Discriminate by Nutrition, Fecal Color, Consistency and Sample Type in Suckling and Newly Weaned Piglets.

Feces enable frequent samplings for the same animal, which is valuable in studies investigating the development of the gut microbiome in piglets. Creep feed should prepare the piglet's gut for the postweaning period and shape the microbiome accordingly. Little is known about the variation that is caused by differences in fecal color and consistency and different sample types (feces versus swab samples).

Dietary Probiotics Modulate Gut Barrier and Immune-Related Gene Expression and Histomorphology in Broiler Chickens under Non- and Pathogen-Challenged Conditions: A Meta-Analysis.

Data published in the literature about the favorable effects of dietary probiotics on gut health in broiler chickens are inconsistent. To obtain a more comprehensive understanding, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effects of probiotics on the gut barrier and immune-related gene expression, histomorphology, and growth in chickens that were either challenged or non-challenged with pathogens. From the 54 articles published between 2012 and 2022, subsets of data, separately for non-challenged and challenged conditions, for response variables were created.

Plant-oriented microbiome inoculum modulates age-related maturation of gut-mucosal expression of innate immune and barrier function genes in suckling and weaned piglets.

In the immediate time after weaning, piglets often show symptoms of gut inflammation. The change to a plant-based diet, lack of sow milk, and the resulting novel gut microbiome and metabolite profile in digesta may be causative factors for the observed inflammation. We used the intestinal loop perfusion assay (ILPA) to investigate jejunal and colonic expression of genes for antimicrobial secretion, oxidative stress, barrier function, and inflammatory signaling in suckling and weaned piglets when exposed to "plant-oriented" microbiome (POM) representing postweaning digesta with gut-site specific microbial and metabolite composition.

Creep Feeding and Weaning Influence the Postnatal Evolution of the Plasma Metabolome in Neonatal Piglets.

Data on the evolution of blood metabolites and metabolic markers in neonatal piglets are scarce, although this information is vital to detect physiological aberrations from normal development. We aimed to characterize age- and nutrition-related changes in the plasma metabolome and serum biochemistry of suckling and newly weaned piglets and assess metabolite patterns as physiological markers for the two phases. In two replicate batches ( = 10 litters/group), piglets either received sow milk alone or were additionally offered creep feed from day 10 until weaning (day 28).

Available phosphorus levels modulate gene expression related to intestinal calcium and phosphorus absorption and bone parameters differently in gilts and barrows.

Objective: Dietary phytase increases bioavailability of phytate-bound phosphorus (P) in pig nutrition affecting dietary calcium (Ca) to P ratio, intestinal uptake, and systemic utilization of both minerals, which may contribute to improper bone mineralization. We used phytase to assess long-term effects of two dietary available P (aP) levels using a one-phase feeding system on gene expression related to Ca and P homeostasis along the intestinal tract and in the kidney, short-chain fatty acids in stomach, cecum, and colon, serum, and bone parameters in growing gilts and barrows.

Methods: Growing pigs (37.

Exposure to plant-oriented microbiome altered jejunal and colonic innate immune response and barrier function more strongly in suckling than in weaned piglets.

Weaning often leaves the piglet vulnerable to gut dysfunction. Little is known about the acute response of a gut mucosa primed by a milk-oriented microbiome before weaning to a plant-oriented microbiome (POM) after weaning. We evaluated the epithelial structure, secretory response and permeability in the small and large intestines of piglets receiving a milk-based (i.

Short-Chain Fatty Acids Modulate Permeability, Motility and Gene Expression in the Porcine Fetal Jejunum Ex Vivo.

Postnatally, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) are important energetic and signaling agents, being involved in host nutrition, gut imprinting and immune and barrier function. Whether SCFA exert similar effects during the late fetal phase has been insufficiently elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate whether the fetal jejunum senses SCFA and whether SCFA modify the muscle tension and epithelial permeability and related signaling in jejunal tissue from the porcine fetus in late gestation.

The Role of Dietary and Microbial Fatty Acids in the Control of Inflammation in Neonatal Piglets.

Excessive inflammation and a reduced gut mucosal barrier are major causes for gut dysfunction in piglets. The fatty acid (FA) composition of the membrane lipids is crucial for mediating inflammatory signalling and is largely determined by their dietary intake. Porcine colostrum and milk are the major sources of fat in neonatal piglets.

Evaluation of serum parameters to predict the dietary intake of calcium and available phosphorus in growing pigs.

Adequate provision of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) is essential for bone formation and high growth performance in pigs. Nevertheless, reliable serum biomarkers for pig's Ca and P intake are still missing. Here, we used phytase supplementation to alter the dietary available P (aP) level in order to investigate the effect of differences in dietary aP levels on serum parameters related to the Ca and P homeostasis in pigs.

Postnatal development of gut microbial activity and their importance for jejunal motility in piglets.

Despite their anti-inflammatory properties, role in barrier function, absorption and microbial balance in the gut, knowledge on maturational and dietary effects on intestinal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in neonatal piglets is scarce. Moreover, little information exists whether SCFA and lactic acid (LA) modulates gut motility at this age. The present study aimed (1) to investigate the maturational changes in the SCFA profile with and without creep feeding of piglets in the first 3 wk of life; and (2) to examine the effects of SCFA and LA on muscle contractibility in jejunal tissue from neonatal piglets ex vivo.

Short-, medium-, and long-chain fatty acid profiles and signaling is responsive to dietary phytase and lactic acid treatment of cereals along the gastrointestinal tract of growing pigs.

Dietary and microbially derived fatty acids (FA) play important roles in gut mucosal inflammatory signaling, barrier function, and oxidative stress response. Nevertheless, little information is available about gastrointestinal FA profiles and receptor distribution in pigs, especially for long-chain FA (LCFA). Therefore, the present pilot study aimed to (1) investigate the gastrointestinal FA profiles; (2) link the luminal FA profiles to the mucosal expression of genes related to FA sensing and signaling; and (3) assess potential dietary effects on gut and systemic lipid metabolism in pigs.

Impact of Intestinal Microbiota on Growth and Feed Efficiency in Pigs: A Review.

This review summarises the evidence for a link between the porcine intestinal microbiota and growth and feed efficiency (FE), and suggests microbiota-targeted strategies to improve productivity. However, there are challenges in identifying reliable microbial predictors of host phenotype; environmental factors impact the microbe-host interplay, sequential differences along the intestine result in segment-specific FE- and growth-associated taxa/functionality, and it is often difficult to distinguish cause and effect. However, bacterial taxa involved in nutrient processing and energy harvest, and those with anti-inflammatory effects, are consistently linked with improved productivity.

Dietary Phytase- and Lactic Acid-Treated Cereals Caused Greater Taxonomic Adaptations than Functional Adaptations in the Cecal Metagenome of Growing Pigs.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for the gut bacteria and the host. Nevertheless, little information exists that indicates to what extent an improved level of P availability in the small intestine leads to functional adaptations in bacterial metabolic pathways in the large intestine. Therefore, we investigated the changes in the taxonomic and functional bacterial metagenome in cecal digesta of growing pigs fed diets containing phytase and/or cereals treated with 2.

Maturational Changes Alter Effects of Dietary Phytase Supplementation on the Fecal Microbiome in Fattening Pigs.

Age-related successions in the porcine gut microbiome may modify the microbial response to dietary changes. This may especially affect the bacterial response to essential nutrients for bacterial metabolism, such as phosphorus (P). Against this background, we used phytase supplementation (0 or 650 phytase units/kg complete feed) to alter the P availability in the hindgut and studied the dietary response of the fecal bacterial microbiome from the early to late fattening period.

Shifts in the Fecal Microbial Community of Infected Piglets in Response to Toltrazuril.

The protozoan parasite causes diarrhea and reduced weight gain in suckling piglets. Infections occur in the first days of life; it is transient but can lead to dysbiosis, exacerbating disease and increasing mortality. Cystoisosporosis is effectively controlled by toltrazuril treatment; however, alterations of the gut microbial composition upon infection and treatment have not been investigated.

Improved simple T-cannula technique to facilitate surgery and daily skin care of growing pigs.

In order to further increase the stability of the cannula behind the ribs and to facilitate cannula exteriorization in growing pigs, the present study aimed to evaluate whether elongation of the cannula flange could increase the stability of the cannula behind the ribs and to develop a tool to improve the exteriorization of the cannula through the ribs. Moreover, it was assessed whether a special skin protection paste and soft polyurethane foam material used in daily skin care could prevent erythema around the fistula. The feasibility of both, the modified simple T-cannula and daily skin care procedure, was evaluated in a digestibility experiment.

A multicomponent mycotoxin deactivator modifies the response of the jejunal mucosal and cecal bacterial community to deoxynivalenol contaminated feed and oral lipopolysaccharide challenge in chickens1.

Mycotoxin deactivators are a widely used strategy to abrogate negative effects of mycotoxin-contaminated feed. It has not been adequately evaluated whether these deactivators may detoxify bacterial toxins in the intestinal lumen and subsequently lower the inflammatory response in chickens. The present objective was to study the effect of a multicomponent mycotoxin deactivator (B), containing a bentonite and a bacterial strain capable to enzymatically biotransform trichothecenes especially deoxynivalenol (DON), when supplemented to a DON-contaminated feed in combination with an oral lipopolysaccharide challenge on visceral organ size, expression of innate immune genes and mucosal permeability in the small intestine as well as on the cecal bacterial composition and metabolites in broiler chickens.

Alterations of the Viable Ileal Microbiota of the Gut Mucosa-Lymph Node Axis in Pigs Fed Phytase and Lactic Acid-Treated Cereals.

The gut-lymph node axis is a critical player in the symbiotic relationship between gut microbiota and the host. However, little is known about the impact of diet-related bacterial shifts in the gut lumen on bacterial translocation into lymph nodes. Here, we (i) characterized changes in the viable microbiota composition along the ileal digesta-mucosa-lymph node axis and (ii) examined the effect of dietary phytase supplementation and lactic acid (LA) soaking of cereals on the bacterial taxonomy along this axis, together with their effect on the mucosal expression of innate immune and barrier function genes in pigs ( = 8/diet).

Lactic Acid Treatment of Cereals and Dietary Phytase Modified Fecal Microbiome Composition Without Affecting Expression of Virulence Factor Genes in Growing Pigs.

Besides the major nutrients, phosphorus (P) is an essential mineral for both the host animal and the porcine gut microbiota. Different strategies including phytase supplementation and more recently lactic acid (LA) are used to enhance the P availability from cereals in pig diets; however, their impact on the gut microbiota has been rarely related to fecal shedding of opportunistic pathogens. The present study investigated the effect of phytase supplementation and the treatment of dietary cereals with 2.

Transcript profile of skeletal muscle lipid metabolism genes affected by diet in a piglet model of low birth weight.

Dysregulated skeletal muscle metabolism (DSMM) is associated with increased inter- and intramuscular fat deposition in low birth weight (L) individuals. The mechanisms behind DSMM in L individuals are not completely understood but decreased muscle mass and shifts in lipid and carbohydrate utilisation may contribute. Previously, we observed lower fat oxidation in a porcine model of low birth weight.

Improvement of Feed Efficiency in Pigs through Microbial Modulation via Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Sows and Dietary Supplementation of Inulin in Offspring.

As previous studies have demonstrated a link between the porcine intestinal microbiome and feed efficiency (FE), microbiota manipulation may offer a means of improving FE in pigs. A fecal microbiota transplantation procedure (FMTp), using fecal extracts from highly feed-efficient pigs, was performed in pregnant sows ( = 11), with a control group ( = 11) receiving no FMTp. At weaning, offspring were allocated, within sow treatment, to (i) control ( = 67; no dietary supplement) or (ii) inulin ( = 65; 6-week dietary inulin supplementation) treatments.