Effects of host genetics and environmental conditions on fecal microbiota composition of pigs

PLoS One. 2018 Aug 7;13(8):e0201901. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201901. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Since microbiota may influence the physiology of its host including body weight increase, growth rate or feed intake, in this study we determined the microbiota composition in high or low residual feed intake (HRFI and LRFI) pig lines, of different age and/or subjected to sanitary stress by sequencing the V3/V4 variable region of 16S rRNA genes. Allisonella, Megasphaera, Mitsuokella, Acidaminococcus (all belonging to Firmicutes/class Negativicutes), Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium, Catenibacterium, Butyrivibrio, Erysipelotrichaceae, Holdemania, Olsenella and Collinsella were more abundant in HRFI pigs. On the other hand, 26 genera including Bacteroides, Clostridium sensu stricto, Oscillibacter, Paludibacter, Elusimicrobium, Bilophila, Pyramidobacter and TM7 genera, and Clostridium XI and Clostridium XIVa clusters were more abundant in LRFI than HRFI pigs. Adaptation of microbiota to new diet after weaning was slower in LRFI than in HRFI pigs. Sanitary stress was of relatively minor influence on pig microbiota composition in both tested lines although abundance of Helicobacter increased in LRFI pigs subjected to stress. Selection for residual feed intake thus resulted in a selection of fecal microbiota of different composition. However, we cannot conclude whether residual feed intake was directly affected by different microbiota composition or whether the residual feed intake and microbiota composition are two independent consequences of yet unknown genetic traits differentially selected in the pigs of the two lines.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Animals
  • Diet*
  • Eating
  • Environment*
  • Feces / microbiology*
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / genetics
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / physiology*
  • RNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Species Specificity*
  • Stress, Physiological / physiology
  • Sus scrofa
  • Weaning

Substances

  • RNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

This study was supported by projects RVO0517 from the Czech Ministry of Agriculture, CZ.1.05/2.1.00/01.0006–ED0006/01/01 from the Czech Ministry of Education and EU project 613574 ProHealth. All the financial supports are correctly mentioned in the web based application form. The funders of RVO0517 project provided partial support in the form of salary for authors TK, LDG, VB, DC and IR. Except for this, the funders did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.