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. 2021 Dec 1:12:765691.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.765691. eCollection 2021.

Comparative Evaluation of the Ileum Microbiota Composition in Piglets at Different Growth Stages

Chang Lu  1 , Yadan Liu  1 , Yijia Ma  1 , Shu Wang  1 , Chunbo Cai  1 , Yang Yang  1 , Yan Zhao  1 , Guoming Liang  1 , Guoqing Cao  1 , Bugao Li  1 , Sung Woo Kim  2 , Xiaohong Guo  1 , Pengfei Gao  1
Affiliations

Comparative Evaluation of the Ileum Microbiota Composition in Piglets at Different Growth Stages

Chang Lu et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Intestinal microbiota can affect the intake, storage, and absorption of nutrients in the body, thereby greatly impacting the growth and development of animals. In addition to diet, the breed and growth stages of pigs could also affect changes in the intestinal microbiota. However, research on the developmental changes in the ileum microbiota of piglets remains unclear. In this study, the ileum microbiota of Jinfen White and Mashen piglets at different developmental stages were investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing. Physiologically, the villus height of the ileum decreased, and the crypt depth increased during the development of the two pig breeds. Additionally, the serum antioxidant factors in the Jinfen White piglets were significantly higher than in the Mashen piglets at the end of the nursing stage. A total of 690 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 21 phyla and 286 genera were identified, of which Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the dominant phyla during the development of both the Jinfen White and Mashen piglets, accounting for ∼90% of all OTUs. Further research revealed differences in dominant bacteria between the two breeds. With increasing age, the ileum microbial diversity increased, and in both the pig breeds, the proportion of Firmicutes increased, whereas the proportion of Proteobacteria decreased. Additionally, different samples were characterized by specific genera, and different Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were predicted at certain developmental stages. Finally, the correlation between the ileum microbiota and physiological features was analyzed, and it was suggested that the host and environmental factors play important roles in the formation of the microbial community structure in piglets. In summary, we delineated the structure, function, and differences in ileum microbiota between Jinfen White and Mashen piglets during different growth stages. This study helps to understand the development of the intestinal microbiota in local and hybrid pig breeds.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; Jinfen White and Mashen piglets; growth stage; ileum microbiota; intestinal microorganism.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The intestinal morphology of Jinfen White and Mashen piglets. (A) The villus height (μm), (B) crypt depth (μm), (C) villus/crypt ratio, and (D) ileum intestinal biopsy of Jinfen White and Mashen piglets (200×). One day, newborn; 28 days, weaning stage; and 70 days, end of nursey stage. Differences between two pig breeds were analyzed using Student’s t-test, *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 indicate significant difference. Differences among different time points per breed were identified using ANOVA, values with the same or no letter superscripts mean no significant difference (P > 0.05), while with different small letter superscripts mean significant difference at the level of 0.05, and with different capital letter superscripts mean significant difference at the level of 0.01.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The change of antioxidant index in serum. (A) The content of MDA, (B) SOD, and (C) T-AOC in serum of Jinfen White and Mashen piglets. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001 indicate significant difference between two pig breeds.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The ileum microbiota α diversity of Jinfen White and Mashen piglets. (A) Chao1 indices, (B) ACE indices, (C) Simpson indices, and (D) Shannon indices. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001 indicate significant difference among different time points.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) of the samples based on the OTU profiling.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Characterization of ileum microbiota from Jinfen White and Mashen piglets. (A) Microbial community bar plot of phyla in piglet ileum. (B) Microbial community bar plot of genera in piglet ileum.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
The abundance of metabolic pathways in microorganisms from ileum. (A) The pathway abundance of Jinfen White piglets and (B) Mashen piglets.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
The top 20 KEGG pathway of ileum microbiota in Jinfen White piglets and Mashen piglets.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Spearman correlation coefficient between the ileum microbiota composition of the genera (top 50) and seven environmental factors of the Jinfen White and Mashen piglets. (A) Correlation between Jinfen White piglets and environmental variables and (B) correlation between Mashen piglets and environmental variables. Columns and rows represent environmental factors and genera, respectively. R-values are represented by colors, as indicated in the figure legend on the right side of the figure. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001 indicate significant correlation between microbial genera and environmental variables.
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