Table_7_Composition of the Fecal Microbiota of Piglets at Various Growth Stages.XLS

Gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota play an important role in promoting growth in piglets. However, studies on microbiota composition at various growth stages are lacking. We measured body weights of Jinfen White and Mashen piglets every 7 days and collected their fecal samples by rectal swabbing at nine time points during suckling (1–28 days) and nursery (35–70 days) stages to gain insight into microbiota variability during piglet growth. The fecal microbiota were characterized via 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze the effects of microbial diversity on piglet growth and development preliminarily. The results showed that although the two breeds of piglets have similar body weights at birth, weaned Jinfen White piglets demonstrated a significantly greater body weight and daily weight gain than weaned Mashen piglets (P < 0.01). A total of 1,976 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 27 phyla and 489 genera were uncovered, in which the highest numbers of OTUs belong to the phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, and Prevotellaceae NK3B31 groups accounting for 12.4, 8.8, and 5.8% of OTUs, respectively, showed relatively high abundance at the genus level. Nine sampling time points were divided into three growth stages, namely, immediate postfarrowing (1 day old), suckling (7, 14, and 21 days old), and nursery (28, 35, 49, 63, and 70 days old), on the basis of the results of microbial diversity, principal coordinate, and co-occurrence network analyses. In addition, it identified 54 discriminative features in the microbiota between two breeds of piglets by LEfSe analysis, in which 17 genera enriched the microbiota community of Jinfen White piglets. Finally, abundances of 29 genera showed significant positive correlations with body weights and daily weight gain of piglets. Conversely, abundances of 12 genera demonstrated significant negative correlations with body weights of piglets. The results of our study will provide a theoretical basis for succession patterns in fecal microbiota of piglets and suggest the need for meticulous management of piglets in pig production.

肠道微生物群在促进仔猪生长过程中扮演着至关重要的角色。然而，关于不同生长阶段微生物群组成的深入研究尚显不足。本研究通过对金凤白猪和马山仔猪的体重进行每7天一次的测量，并在哺乳期（1至28天）和保育期（35至70天）的九个时间点通过直肠拭子采集粪便样本，以探究仔猪生长过程中微生物群变异性。通过对粪便微生物群的16S rRNA基因进行测序，初步分析了微生物多样性对仔猪生长和发育的影响。结果显示，尽管两种品种的仔猪在出生时体重相似，但断奶后的金凤白猪比断奶后的马山猪表现出显著更高的体重和日增重（P < 0.01）。共发现1,976个操作分类单元（OTUs），分属于27个门和489个属，其中OTUs数量最多的是厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门。乳杆菌、拟杆菌和普雷沃氏菌属NK3B31组分别占OTUs的12.4%、8.8%和5.8%，在属水平上显示出相对较高的丰度。基于微生物多样性、主坐标分析和共现网络分析的结果，将九个采样时间点划分为三个生长阶段，即产仔后立即期（1日龄）、哺乳期（7、14和21日龄）和保育期（28、35、49、63和70日龄）。此外，通过LEfSe分析，识别出两种仔猪品种微生物群之间的54个区分性特征，其中17个属丰富了金凤白猪的微生物群社区。最后，29个属的丰度与仔猪的体重和日增重呈显著正相关，而12个属的丰度与仔猪的体重呈显著负相关。本研究结果将为仔猪粪便微生物群演替模式提供理论基础，并提示在猪的生产过程中对仔猪进行细致管理的重要性。