State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, PR China.
College of Bioscience and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, PR China.
J Anim Sci. 2021 Mar 1;99(3). doi: 10.1093/jas/skab045.
Feed efficiency (FE) is an economically important trait in pig production. Gut microbiota plays an important role in energy harvest, nutrient metabolism, and fermentation of dietary indigestible components. Whether and which gut microbes affect FE in pigs are largely unknown. Here, a total of 208 healthy Duroc pigs were used as experimental materials. Feces and serum samples were collected at the age of 140 d. We first performed 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic sequencing analysis to investigate the relationship between the gut microbiome and porcine residual feed intake (RFI). 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis detected 21 operational taxonomic units showing the tendency to correlation with the RFI (P < 0.01). Metagenomic sequencing further identified that the members of Clostridiales, e.g., Ruminococcus flavefaoiens, Lachnospiraceae bacterium 28-4, and Lachnospiraceae phytofermentans, were enriched in pigs with low RFI (high-FE), while 11 bacterial species including 5 Prevotella spp., especially, the Prevotella copri, had higher abundance in pigs with high RFI. Functional capacity analysis suggested that the gut microbiome of low RFI pigs had a high abundance of the pathways related to amino acid metabolism and biosynthesis, but a low abundance of the pathways associated with monosaccharide metabolism and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. Serum metabolome and fecal short-chain fatty acids were determined by UPLC-QTOF/MS and gas chromatography, respectively. Propionic acid in feces and the serum metabolites related to amino acid metabolism were negatively correlated with the RFI. The results from this study may provide potential gut microbial biomarkers that could be used for improving FE in pig production industry.
饲料效率（FE）是猪生产中一个重要的经济性状。肠道微生物在能量收获、营养代谢和日粮不可消化成分发酵中起着重要作用。肠道微生物是否以及哪些影响猪的 FE 还很大程度上不清楚。本研究共使用 208 头健康杜洛克猪作为实验材料。在 140 日龄时采集粪便和血清样本。我们首先进行了 16S rRNA 基因和宏基因组测序分析，以研究肠道微生物组与猪残余采食量（RFI）之间的关系。16S rRNA 基因测序分析检测到 21 个操作分类单元（OTUs）与 RFI 呈正相关趋势（P < 0.01）。宏基因组测序进一步鉴定出梭菌目成员，如 Ruminococcus flavefaoiens、Lachnospiraceae bacterium 28-4 和 Lachnospiraceae phytofermentans，在低 RFI（高 FE）猪中富集，而包括 5 种普雷沃氏菌属在内的 11 种细菌，尤其是普雷沃氏菌 copri，在高 RFI 猪中丰度较高。功能能力分析表明，低 RFI 猪的肠道微生物组中与氨基酸代谢和生物合成相关的途径丰度较高，而与单糖代谢和脂多糖生物合成相关的途径丰度较低。通过 UPLC-QTOF/MS 和气相色谱分别测定血清代谢组和粪便短链脂肪酸。粪便丙酸和与氨基酸代谢相关的血清代谢物与 RFI 呈负相关。本研究结果可为提高猪生产行业的 FE 提供潜在的肠道微生物生物标志物。
