Crude protein content in diets associated with intestinal microbiome and metabolome alteration in Huanjiang mini-pigs during different growth stages

Yating Liu; Md Abul Kalam Azad; Xichen Zhao; Xiangfeng Kong

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2024.1398919

Crude protein content in diets associated with intestinal microbiome and metabolome alteration in Huanjiang mini-pigs during different growth stages

Front Microbiol. 2024 Apr 16:15:1398919. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1398919. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yating Liu^#^{1

2}, Md Abul Kalam Azad^#^{1

2}, Xichen Zhao¹, Xiangfeng Kong^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Physiology and Metabolic Process, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China.
² College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Research Center of Mini-Pig, Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: Adequate crude protein (CP) content in diets plays a crucial role in the intestinal health of the animal. This study investigated the impacts of CP content in diets on the intestinal microbiome and metabolome profiles in growing Huanjiang mini-pigs.

Methods: A total of 360 pigs with similar body weight (BW) were allocated for three independent feeding trials based on three different BW stages, including (i) 5-10 kg BW, diets consisting of 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22% CP content; (ii) 10-20 kg BW, diets consisting of 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20% CP content; and (iii) 20-30 kg BW, diets consisting of 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18% CP content. These experiments lasted 28, 28, and 26 days, respectively.

Results: The results showed that the Shannon and Simpson indices were decreased (p < 0.05) in the ileum of pigs in response to the 14-18% CP compared with the 20% CP content at 5-10 kg BW stage, while diets containing 12 and 14% CP had higher Chao1 (p < 0.05) and Shannon (p = 0.054) indices compared with 18% CP at 20-30 kg BW stage. Compared with the 20% CP, the diet containing 16% CP displayed an increasing trend (p = 0.089) of Firmicutes abundance but had decreased (p = 0.056) Actinobacteria abundance in the jejunum at 5-10 kg BW stage. In addition, a diet containing 16% CP had higher Lactobacillus abundance in the jejunum and ileum compared with the 18, 20, and 22% CP, while had lower Sphingomonas and Pelomonas abundances in the jejunum and Streptococcus abundance in the ileum compared with the diet containing 22% CP (p < 0.05). Diets containing lower CP content altered differential metabolites in the small intestine at the early stage, while higher CP content had less impact.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that a diet containing lower CP content (16% CP) may be an appropriate dietary CP content for 5-10 kg Huanjiang mini-pigs, as 16% CP content in diet has shown beneficial impacts on the intestinal microbiome and metabolome profiles at the early growth stage of pigs.

Keywords: Huanjiang mini-pig; crude protein; metabolome; microbiome; small intestine.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The present study was jointly supported by the National Key Research and Development Project (2023YFD1301301305), Major Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (32394041), Foreign Young Talent Program of Ministry of Science and Technology (E2600201), Future Partner Special Network Fund of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (092GJHZ2022044FN), and Production and Research Talent Support Project of the CAS Wang Kuancheng Initiative Talent Program.