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Core gut microbiota in Jinhua pigs and its correlation with strain, farm and weaning age

Journal of Microbiology volume 56, pages 346–355 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Gut microbial diversity and the core microbiota of the Jinhua pig, which is a traditional, slow-growing Chinese breed with a high body-fat content, were examined from a total of 105 fecal samples collected from 6 groups of pigs at 3 weaning ages that originated from 2 strains and were raised on 3 different pig farms. The bacterial community was analyzed following high-throughput pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes, and the fecal concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were measured by gas chromatograph. Our results showed that Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla, and Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Clostridium, SMB53, and Bifidobacterium were the most abundant genera. Fifteen predominant genera present in every Jinhua pig sample constituted a phylogenetic core microbiota and included the probiotics Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and the SCFA-producing bacteria Clostridium, Prevotella, Bacteroides, Coprococcus, Roseburia, Ruminococcus, Blautia, and Butyricicoccus. Comparisons of the microbiota compositions and SCFA concentrations across the 6 groups of pigs demonstrated that genetic background and weaning age affected the structure of the gut microbiota more significantly than the farm. The relative abundance of the core genera in the pigs, including Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Prevotella, Bacteroides, Roseburia, Ruminococcus, Blautia, and Butyricicoccus varied dramatically in pigs among the 2 origins and 3 weaning ages, while Oscillospira, Megasphaera, Parabacteroides, and Corynebacterium differed among pigs from different farms. Interestingly, there was a more significant influence of strain and weaning age than of rearing farm on the SCFA concentrations. Therefore, strain and weaning age appear to be the more important factors shaping the intestinal microbiome of pigs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, P. R. China

    Hua Yang, Junjun Wang & Defa Li

  2. Institute of Quality and Standard for Agro-products, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, P. R. China

    Hua Yang, Yingping Xiao, Yujie Gong & Xueting Wen

  3. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, P. R. China

    Hua Yang, Junjun Wang & Defa Li

  4. Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Jinhua Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinhua, 321000, P. R. China

    Yun Xiang

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  1. Hua Yang
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  2. Yingping Xiao
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  3. Junjun Wang
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Correspondence to Defa Li.

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Yang, H., Xiao, Y., Wang, J. et al. Core gut microbiota in Jinhua pigs and its correlation with strain, farm and weaning age. J Microbiol. 56, 346–355 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-018-7486-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-018-7486-8

Keywords

  • Jinhua pigs
  • core gut microbiota
  • short-chain fatty acids
  • strain
  • farm
  • weaning age