Reprogramming of the gut microbiota following feralization in Sus scrofa

Simona Petrelli; Maria Buglione; Eleonora Rivieccio; Ezio Ricca; Loredana Baccigalupi; Giovanni Scala; Domenico Fulgione

doi:10.1186/s42523-023-00235-x

Reprogramming of the gut microbiota following feralization in Sus scrofa

Anim Microbiome. 2023 Feb 24;5(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s42523-023-00235-x.

Authors

Simona Petrelli¹, Maria Buglione¹, Eleonora Rivieccio², Ezio Ricca^{1

3}, Loredana Baccigalupi⁴, Giovanni Scala¹, Domenico Fulgione^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 26, 80126, Naples, NA, Italy.
² Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Via Porta Di Massa 1, 80133, Naples, Italy.
³ Task Force On Microbiome Studies, University of Naples Federico II, 80100, Naples, NA, Italy.
⁴ Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, NA, Italy.
⁵ Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 26, 80126, Naples, NA, Italy. fulgione@unina.it.
⁶ Task Force On Microbiome Studies, University of Naples Federico II, 80100, Naples, NA, Italy. fulgione@unina.it.

Abstract

Background: Wild boar has experienced several evolutionary trajectories from which domestic (under artificial selection) and the feral pig (under natural selection) originated. Strong adaptation deeply affects feral population's morphology and physiology, including the microbiota community. The gut microbiota is generally recognized to play a crucial role in maintaining host health and metabolism. To date, it is unclear whether feral populations' phylogeny, development stages or lifestyle have the greatest impact in shaping the gut microbiota, as well as how this can confer adaptability to new environments. Here, in order to deepen this point, we characterized the gut microbiota of feral population discriminating between juvenile and adult samples, and we compared it to the microbiota structure of wild boar and domestic pig as the references. Gut microbiota composition was estimated through the sequencing of the partial 16S rRNA gene by DNA metabarcoding and High Throughput Sequencing on DNA extracted from fecal samples.

Results: The comparison of microbiota communities among the three forms showed significant differences. The feral form seems to carry some bacteria of both domestic pigs, derived from its ancestral condition, and wild boars, probably as a sign of a recent re-adaptation strategy to the natural environment. In addition, interestingly, feral pigs show some exclusive bacterial taxa, also suggesting an innovative nature of the evolutionary trajectories and an ecological segregation in feral populations, as already observed for other traits.

Conclusions: The feral pig showed a significant change between juvenile and adult microbiota suggesting an influence of the wild environment in which these populations segregate. However, it is important to underline that we certainly cannot overlook that these variations in the structure of the microbiota also depended on the different development stages of the animal, which in fact influence the composition of the intestinal microbiota. Concluding, the feral pigs represent a new actor living in the same geographical space as the wild boars, in which its gut microbial structure suggests that it is mainly the result of environmental segregation, most different from its closest relative. This gives rise to interesting fields of exploration regarding the changed ecological complexity and the consequent evolutionary destiny of the animal communities involved in this phenomenon.

Keywords: Feralization; Gut microbiota; Reprogramming; Sus scrofa.