Lee Adam, Liang Lu, Connerton Phillippa L, Connerton Ian F, Mellits Kenneth H
Division of Microbiology, Brewing, and Biotechnology, School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
Front Vet Sci. 2023 Feb 7;10:1118302. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1118302. eCollection 2023.
Rotavirus A is a major cause of acute dehydrating diarrhea in neonatal pigs resulting in significant mortality, morbidity, reduced performance and economic loss. Commercially available prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides are similar to those of mammalian milk and stimulate the development of the microbiota and immune system in neonates. Little is known about the effects of supplementing sows' diets with galacto-oligosaccharides during gestation. This study aimed to determine if dietary galacto-oligosaccharide supplementation during gestation could improve immunity, reduce rotavirus infection and modulate the microbiota in sows and neonates in a commercial farm setting with confirmed natural endemic rotavirus challenge.
In a randomized controlled trial, control sows received lactation diet with no galacto-oligosaccharide supplementation and test sows received lactation diet with 30 g/day galacto-oligosaccharide top-dressed into feed daily, seven days before farrowing. Colostrum was collected from sows 24 hours and tested for rotavirus specific antibodies. Fecal samples were collected from sows and piglets three days , tested for rotavirus A by qPCR and the microbiome composition assessed by 16s rRNA gene sequencing.
Supplementation with galacto-oligosaccharides during gestation significantly increased rotavirus-specific IgG and IgA in sow colostrum and reduced the number of rotavirus positive piglet fecal samples. Abundance of potential pathogens and were higher in fecal samples from non-galacto-oligosaccharide fed sows, their piglets and rotavirus positive samples.
This study demonstrates that galacto-oligosaccharide supplementation during gestation significantly increases rotavirus specific IgG and IgA in sow colostrum thereby reducing neonatal rotavirus infection and suppresses potential pathogenic bacteria in nursing sows and neonatal piglets.
A 组轮状病毒是新生仔猪急性脱水性腹泻的主要病因，会导致显著的死亡率、发病率、生长性能下降及经济损失。市售的益生元低聚半乳糖与哺乳动物乳汁中的类似，可刺激新生儿微生物群和免疫系统的发育。关于在妊娠期给母猪日粮添加低聚半乳糖的影响，人们了解甚少。本研究旨在确定在一个已确认存在自然地方性轮状病毒感染的商业化养殖场环境中，妊娠期日粮添加低聚半乳糖是否能提高母猪和新生仔猪的免疫力、减少轮状病毒感染并调节微生物群。
在一项随机对照试验中，对照母猪接受不添加低聚半乳糖的泌乳日粮，试验母猪在分娩前 7 天每天在饲料中额外添加 30 克低聚半乳糖。在母猪产后 24 小时采集初乳，并检测其中的轮状病毒特异性抗体。在产后 3 天从母猪和仔猪采集粪便样本，通过定量聚合酶链反应检测 A 组轮状病毒，并通过 16S rRNA 基因测序评估微生物群组成。
妊娠期添加低聚半乳糖显著增加了母猪初乳中轮状病毒特异性 IgG 和 IgA 的含量，并减少了轮状病毒阳性仔猪粪便样本的数量。在未添加低聚半乳糖的母猪、其仔猪以及轮状病毒阳性样本的粪便样本中，潜在病原体的丰度更高。
本研究表明，妊娠期添加低聚半乳糖可显著增加母猪初乳中轮状病毒特异性 IgG 和 IgA 的含量，从而减少新生仔猪轮状病毒感染，并抑制哺乳母猪和新生仔猪中的潜在病原菌。
