An isotonic protein solution favorably modulated the porcine intestinal immune response and cellular adhesion markers and reduced PEDV shedding in vivo.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes immensely large economic losses worldwide in the swine industry. PEDV attacks the intestine, disrupts intestinal epithelium morphology and barrier integrity, and results in profound diarrhea and high mortality. A commercially available isotonic protein solution (IPS) (Tonisity Px) has anecdotally been reported to be effective in supportive treatment of piglets with active PEDV infections.

Early-Life Intake of an Isotonic Protein Drink Improves the Gut Microbial Profile of Piglets.

A healthy microbial community in the gut of piglets is critical to minimize the negative performance consequences associated with dietary and environmental changes that occur at weaning. Tonisity Px, an isotonic protein drink, is a potential alternative to balance the gut microbiota as it contains key ingredients for nourishing the small intestine. In the present study, 16 litters comprising 161 piglets were randomly allocated to a group to which Tonisity Px was provided from days 2 to 8 of age (TPX group) or to a control group, to which no Tonisity Px was provided.

Porcine Feed Efficiency-Associated Intestinal Microbiota and Physiological Traits: Finding Consistent Cross-Locational Biomarkers for Residual Feed Intake.

Optimal feed efficiency (FE) in pigs is important for economic and environmental reasons. Previous research identified FE-associated bacterial taxa within the intestinal microbiota of growing pigs. This study investigated whether FE-associated bacteria and selected FE-associated physiological traits were consistent across geographic locations (Republic of Ireland [ROI] [two batches of pigs, ROI1 and ROI2], Northern Ireland [NI], and Austria [AT]), where differences in genetic, dietary, and management factors were minimized.

Exploring a Possible Link between the Intestinal Microbiota and Feed Efficiency in Pigs.

Feed efficiency (FE) is critical in pig production for both economic and environmental reasons. As the intestinal microbiota plays an important role in energy harvest, it is likely to influence FE. Therefore, our aim was to characterize the intestinal microbiota of pigs ranked as low, medium, and high residual feed intake ([RFI] a metric for FE), where genetic, nutritional, and management effects were minimized, to explore a possible link between the intestinal microbiota and FE.

Sequence-based analysis of the intestinal Microbiota of sows and their offspring fed genetically modified maize expressing a truncated form of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab protein (Bt Maize).

The aim was to investigate transgenerational effects of feeding genetically modified (GM) maize expressing a truncated form of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab protein (Bt maize) to sows and their offspring on maternal and offspring intestinal microbiota. Sows were assigned to either non-GM or GM maize dietary treatments during gestation and lactation. At weaning, offspring were assigned within sow treatment to non-GM or GM maize diets for 115 days, as follows: (i) non-GM maize-fed sow/non-GM maize-fed offspring (non-GM/non-GM), (ii) non-GM maize-fed sow/GM maize-fed offspring (non-GM/GM), (iii) GM maize-fed sow/non-GM maize-fed offspring (GM/non-GM), and (iv) GM maize-fed sow/GM maize-fed offspring (GM/GM).