Changes in the ileal, but not faecal, microbiome in response to increased dietary protein level and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli exposure in pigs. Porcine ileal and faecal microbiota dynamics

The relationship between porcine gut microbiota composition and animal health is an important area of research, especially due to the need to find alternatives to antimicrobial use to manage disease in livestock production systems. Previous work has indicated that lower crude dietary protein levels can reduce the impacts of post-weaning colibacillosis (PWC), which is a porcine diarrheal disease caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Here, to explore the complex interactions between the gut microbiota, protein nutrition and ETEC exposure, the microbial compositions of both the ileal digesta and feces were analysed with and without ETEC exposure from pigs fed a low or high protein diet. As ETEC colonisation is mostly localised to the ileum, changes in the small intestinal microbiota were expected in response to ETEC exposure.

猪肠道微生物群（porcine gut microbiota）组成与动物健康的关联是重要的研究领域，尤其鉴于畜牧生产系统中亟需寻找抗菌剂替代品以管控畜禽疾病的现实需求，该方向的研究具有显著价值。既往研究表明，较低的日粮粗蛋白水平可减轻断奶后大肠杆菌病（post-weaning colibacillosis, PWC）的发病影响，该病是由产肠毒素大肠杆菌（enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, ETEC）引发的猪腹泻性疾病。为探究肠道微生物群、蛋白质营养与ETEC暴露之间的复杂互作关系，本数据集分析了饲喂低蛋白或高蛋白日粮的猪在ETEC暴露与未暴露两种条件下的回肠食糜（ileal digesta）与粪便的微生物组成。由于ETEC定植主要定位于回肠，因此预期ETEC暴露会引发小肠微生物群的相应变化。