pig gut metagenome Metagenome

Using ceftiofur during the first days of life is a common preventive strategy against bacterial diseases like polyarthritis, meningitis and diarrhea in swine production. As a broad-spectrum antibiotic, ceftiofur inhibits the targeted pathogens but may also impair the commensal microbiota in the gut, which is important for gastrointestinal health. This study evaluated short- and long-term effects of early use of ceftiofur on the fecal microbiota in suckling piglets and growing pigs. In total, 64 piglets from eight litters (n=4/litter/sex) were used in this study. Piglets from each litter were assigned to the antibiotic group (AB; n=32) or control group (control; n=32) with equal numbers of male and females. Twelve hours postpartum (defined as day 0) AB piglets received an intramuscular injection of ceftiofur (5.0 mg/kg body weight), whereas control piglets received a placebo (0.2 ml/kg body weight; phosphate-buffered saline). DNA was extracted from fecal samples that were collected from piglets before the ceftiofur administration (day 0) and on days 12, 28 and 97 before sequencing the hypervariable regions V3-V5 of the 16S rRNA gene using Illumina MiSeq.