Rhodotorula benthica culture as an alternative to antibiotics improves growth performance by improving nutrients digestibility and intestinal morphology, and modulating gut microbiota of weaned piglets

Qianqian Zhang; Jian Li; Xin Yi; Zipeng Li; Shuang Liang; Zhengfeng Fang; Yan Lin; Shengyu Xu; Bin Feng; Yong Zhuo; De Wu; Lianqiang Che

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.964531

Rhodotorula benthica culture as an alternative to antibiotics improves growth performance by improving nutrients digestibility and intestinal morphology, and modulating gut microbiota of weaned piglets

Front Microbiol. 2022 Sep 2:13:964531. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.964531. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Qianqian Zhang¹, Jian Li¹, Xin Yi², Zipeng Li¹, Shuang Liang³, Zhengfeng Fang¹, Yan Lin¹, Shengyu Xu¹, Bin Feng¹, Yong Zhuo¹, De Wu¹, Lianqiang Che¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Animal Disease-Resistant Nutrition of Sichuan Province, Institute of Animal Nutrition, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
² The First Affiliated Hospital, Department of Pain, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China.
³ Guangzhou Prosyn Biological Technology Feed CO., LTD., Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

The effects of Rhodotorula benthica culture (RBC) and antibiotics (AB) on the growth performance, nutrients digestibility, morphological indicators, and colonic microbiota of weaning piglets were explored. Ninety-six (Duroc × Landrace × Large) weaned piglets (21-day-old) weighing 7.7 ± 0.83 kg, were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatments. They were fed with basal diet (CON), basal diet + 25 mg/kg bacitracin zinc + 5 mg/kg colistin sulfate (AB), 5 g/kg reduction in soybean meal of basal diet + 5 g/kg RBC (RBC1), or 10 g/kg reduction in soybean meal of basal diet + 10 g/kg RBC (RBC2). The results showed that dietary RBC1 improved the body gain/feed intake (G/F) of weaned piglets than the CON diet, and the RBC2 diet improved the average daily gain and G/F than CON and AB diets from days 15 to 28 (P < 0.05). Supplementation of RBC2 improved the apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, nitrogen, and gross energy in weaned piglets compared to controls from days 15 to 28 (P < 0.05). Dietary AB, RBC1, and RBC2 enhanced the ileal villus height (VH) and VH/crypt depth (CD), and these two indicators were greater in the RBC2-treated piglets than in the AB- and RBC1-treated piglets (P < 0.05). The activity of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) was enhanced by dietary AB, RBC1, and RBC2 (P < 0.05). Serum glutathione (GSH) concentration was elevated by dietary RBC1 and RBC2 (P < 0.05). According to 16S rRNA sequence analysis, AB- and RBC2-treated piglets had a higher relative abundance of Firmicutes and Lachnospiraceae in the colon digesta, and more abundant Lactobacillus was found in RBC1-treated piglets, as compared to the CON group. Additionally, RBC2 supplementation increased the α diversity [Chao1, PD-whole-tree, and observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs)] compared to the CON group. Taken together, the dietary RBC improved the growth performance of weaned piglets. In addition, 10 g/kg of RBC2 in the diet achieved better effects on higher ADG, ileal villi morphology, and stronger antioxidant capacity than dietary AB and RBC1 in weaning piglets.

Keywords: antioxidant property; growth performance; intestinal morphology; microbiota community; nutrients digestibility; weaning piglets.