Antimicrobial removal on piglets promotes health and higher bacterial diversity in the nasal microbiota

Abstract

The view on antimicrobials has dramatically changed due to the increased knowledge on the importance of microbiota composition in different body parts. Antimicrobials can no longer be considered only beneficial, but also potentially deleterious for favourable bacterial populations. Still, the use of metaphylactic antimicrobial treatment at early stages of life is a practice in use in porcine production. Many reports have shown that antibiotics can critically affect the gut microbiota, however the effect of perinatal antimicrobial treatment on the nasal microbiota has not been explored yet. To gain insights on the potential changes in nasal microbial composition due to antimicrobial treatments, piglets from two different farms were sampled at weaning. The nasal microbiota was analysed when antimicrobial treatment was used early in life, and later, when no antimicrobial treatment was used during the lactation period. Removal of perinatal antimicrobials resulted in an increased bacterial diversity in nasal microbiota at weaning. Concurrently, elimination of antimicrobials produced an increase in the relative abundance of Prevotella and Lactobacillus , and a decrease in Moraxella and Bergeyella . These changes in microbiota composition were accompanied by an improvement of the piglets’ health and a higher productivity in the nursery phase.

Feed additives for the control of post-weaning Streptococcus suis disease and the effect on the faecal and nasal microbiota

“…Since the nose is more exposed to environmental changes, the increased number of species detected could be a result of transient bacteria that are not actual colonizers, and do not find much competition in a microbiota depleted by the antimicrobial treatment. However, this effect was not observed in previous studies [17][18][19] and may depend on several factors, including the age of the animals, the type of antimicrobial or the duration of treatment. Hence, this intriguing finding deservers further investigation to understand this phenomenon in the nasal microbiota.…”

Update on Streptococcus suis Research and Prevention in the Era of Antimicrobial Restriction: 4th International Workshop on S. suis

“…Clinical observations indicate that overuse of antimicrobials at an early age can have a harmful effect later in the pigs' health [156]. In an attempt to understand this phenomenon, the outcome of perinatal antimicrobial treatment on the nasal microbiota at weaning was studied in two farms [157]. These two farms reported polyserositis cases in the nursery phase and used antimicrobials during the lactation phase for disease control.…”

The porcine respiratory microbiome: recent insights and future challenges

“…Interestingly, oral administration resulted in a more pronounced decrease in the bacterial diversity and a relative increase of the genera Actinobacillus and Streptococcus [30]. In another study, removal of perinatal antimicrobial treatment was associated with increased bacterial diversity and relative abundance of Prevotella and Lactobacillus in the nasal microbiota at weaning [31]. No studies have examined the initial colonization and development of the LRT microbiome in pigs.…”

“…Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were also identified, although at lower prevalence [ 21 , 29 , 35 , 36 ]. At the genus level, Moraxella was the dominant genus more often reported in the nasal cavity of healthy pigs throughout all the phases of production cycle, followed by Streptococcus , Clostridium and Lactobacillus [ 21 , 24 , 29 , 31 , 35 , 37 ].

Fig.

…”