Department of Animal Science, South Dakota State University, Animal Science Complex, Box 2170, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA.
BMC Vet Res. 2020 Feb 18;16(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s12917-020-02282-x.
Weaning is one of the most critical transition stages of the swine production cycle, as the piglet gut physiology and microbiome need to rapidly adapt to changes in diet and environmental conditions. Based on their potential for producing a vast array of bioactive molecules, peptide formulations represent a largely untapped source of compounds that could be developed into feed additives to benefit animal health and nutrition. In this context, a commercial-scale nursery trial was performed to evaluate the impact of low inclusion of a peptide-based feed additive (Peptiva, Vitech Bio-Chem Corporation) on the performance and fecal microbiome of weaned pigs.
While no significant differences in body weight, daily gain, daily feed intake nor gain:feed were observed between control and treatment animals (P > 0.05), an effect of Peptiva on the fecal bacterial composition of weaned pigs was observed. The first main observation was that the fecal bacterial profiles from pigs fed Control-Phase II and Control Phase III diets were found to be very distinct, suggesting that a transition or succession stage had occurred between the two phases. Lactobacilli, represented by four main OTUs (Ssd-00002, Ssd-00019, Ssd-00025, and Ssd-00053), were more abundant at the end of Phase II (P < 0.05), while Streptococci, mostly represented by OTUs Ssd-00039 and Ssd-00048, were in higher abundance at the end of Phase III (P < 0.05). Secondly, the fecal bacterial composition from pigs fed Peptiva Phase II diets showed similarities to both Control-Phase II and Control Phase III samples, while there was no difference in fecal bacterial composition between Control-Phase III and Peptiva Phase III samples. For instance, OTUs Ssd-00019,and Ssd-00053 were in lower abundance in Peptiva Phase II samples compared to Control Phase II (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed in the abundance of these two OTUs when comparing Peptiva Phase II to Control Phase III (P > 0.05).
Together, these results suggest that Peptiva can modulate the composition of the swine microbiome during a specific window of the nursery stage, potentially by accelerating its maturation.
断奶是猪生产周期中最关键的过渡阶段之一，因为仔猪的肠道生理学和微生物组需要迅速适应饮食和环境条件的变化。基于其产生大量生物活性分子的潜力，肽配方代表了一种尚未开发的化合物来源，可以将其开发成饲料添加剂，以促进动物健康和营养。在这种情况下，进行了一项商业规模的托儿所试验，以评估低含量的基于肽的饲料添加剂（Peptiva，Vitech Bio-Chem Corporation）对断奶仔猪的性能和粪便微生物组的影响。
尽管对照组和处理组动物之间的体重、日增重、日采食量或增重：采食量没有显著差异（P>0.05），但观察到 Peptiva 对断奶仔猪粪便细菌组成有影响。第一个主要观察结果是，饲喂对照二期和对照三期日粮的仔猪粪便细菌谱差异很大，表明这两个阶段之间发生了过渡或继替阶段。乳酸杆菌，由四个主要 OTUs（Ssd-00002、Ssd-00019、Ssd-00025 和 Ssd-00053）代表，在第二期结束时更为丰富（P<0.05），而链球菌，主要由 OTUs Ssd-00039 和 Ssd-00048 代表，在第三期结束时更为丰富（P<0.05）。其次，饲喂 Peptiva 二期日粮的仔猪粪便细菌组成与对照二期和对照三期样本相似，而对照三期和 Peptiva 三期样本之间的粪便细菌组成没有差异。例如，OTUs Ssd-00019 和 Ssd-00053 在 Peptiva 二期样本中的丰度低于对照二期（P<0.05），但在比较 Peptiva 二期和对照三期时，这两个 OTU 的丰度没有显著差异（P>0.05）。
综上所述，这些结果表明，Peptiva 可以在托儿所阶段的特定窗口期调节猪微生物组的组成，可能通过加速其成熟来实现。
