Beneficial Roles of Probiotics on the Modulation of Gut Microbiota and Immune Response in Pigs

The importance of probiotics in swine production is widely acknowledged as crucial. However, gaps still remain in the exact roles played by the probiotics in modulation of gut microbiota and immune response. In this study, we investigated the role of probiotics in gut microbiota modulation and immune response in weaned piglets. Microbial enumeration revealed that the population of LAB in faecal samples were higher (p<0.05) in the probiotic group. Histochemical staining of parts of the small intestine revealed that villi height was significantly increased by probiotics. Microbial diversity and richness (Simpson, Shannon, ACE, Chao1) were increased (p<0.05) in the probiotic group compared to control. In addition, taxonomically members of the phyla: Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Spirochaetes were statistically different (p<0.05) between the control and probiotic groups. At the class level, Bacteroidia, Clostridia, Spirochaetes, and Erysipelotrichia were higher in the probiotic group (p<0.05). Twenty-three bacterial families were found both in control and probiotic group, however families; Erysipelotrichaceae, Prevotellaceae, Spirochaetaceae, Sphaerochaetaceae, Christensenellaceae were significantly different between groups. We could find twenty five differentially expressed genes in between control and lactic acid bacteria treatments of the ileum of the weaned piglets using RNA-sequencing data. And these DEGs were mainly and significantly involved in immune response. Findings of this study therefore point out some of the roles played by probiotics in modulating the swine gut microbiota and immune response.