Identification of Gut Microbiota Affecting Fiber Digestibility in Pigs

Qing Niu; Guang Pu; Lijuan Fan; Chen Gao; Tingxu Lan; Chenxi Liu; Taoran Du; Sung Woo Kim; Peipei Niu; Zongping Zhang; Pinghua Li; Ruihua Huang

doi:10.3390/cimb44100312

Identification of Gut Microbiota Affecting Fiber Digestibility in Pigs

Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2022 Sep 30;44(10):4557-4569. doi: 10.3390/cimb44100312.

Authors

Qing Niu^{1

2

3}, Guang Pu^{1

2}, Lijuan Fan^{1

2}, Chen Gao^{1

2}, Tingxu Lan^{1

2}, Chenxi Liu^{1

2}, Taoran Du^{1

2}, Sung Woo Kim⁴, Peipei Niu², Zongping Zhang², Pinghua Li^{1

2}, Ruihua Huang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Swine Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
² Huaian Academy of Nanjing Agricultural University, Huaian, 223005, China.
³ Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China.
⁴ Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.

Abstract

Dietary fiber plays an important role in porcine gut health and welfare. Fiber is degraded by microbial fermentation in the intestine, and most gut microbiota related to fiber digestibility in pigs are worth pursuing. The aim of this study was to identify gut microbiota associated with the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and of acid detergent fiber (ADF) in pigs. Large phenotypic variations in the ATTD of NDF and of ADF were separately found among 274 Suhuai pigs. Microbial community structures were significantly different between high and low fiber digestibility groups. Fourteen genera separately dominated the communities found in the high ATTD (H-AD) of NDF and ADF samples and were in very low abundance in the low ATTD (L-AD) of NDF and ADF samples. In conclusion, norank_f__Bacteroidales_S24-7_group (p < 0.05), Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 (p < 0.05), unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae (p < 0.05), Treponema_2 (p < 0.01), and Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group (p < 0.01) were the main genera of gut microbiota affecting the ATTD of NDF in pigs. Christensenellaceae_R-7_group (p < 0.01), Treponema_2 (p < 0.05), Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group (p < 0.05), Ruminococcaceae_UCG-002 (p < 0.05), and [Eubacterium]_coprostanoligenes_group (p < 0.05) were the main genera of gut microbiota affecting the ATTD of ADF in pigs. The most important functions of the above different potential biomarkers were: carbohydrate transport and metabolism, general function prediction only, amino acid transport and metabolism, cell wall/membrane/envelope biogenesis, translation, transcription, replication, energy production and conversion, signal transduction mechanisms, and inorganic ion transport and metabolism. The most important metabolic pathways of the above different potential biomarkers were: membrane transport, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, replication and repair, translation, cell motility, energy metabolism, poorly characterized, nucleotide metabolism, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, and cellular processes and signaling.

Keywords: apparent ADF digestibility; apparent NDF digestibility; gut microbiota; microbial function.

Abstract

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