Mucosa-Associated Bacterial Microbiome of the Gastrointestinal Tract of Weaned Pigs and Dynamics Linked to Dietary Calcium-Phosphorus

Abstract

Dietary composition largely influences pig’s gastrointestinal microbiota and represents a useful prophylactic tool against enteric disturbances in young pigs. Despite the importance for host-microbe interactions and bacterial colonization, dietary responses of the mucosa-associated bacterial communities are less well investigated. In the present study, we characterized the mucosa-associated bacterial communities at the Pars non-glandularis of the stomach, ileum and colon, and identified shifts in these communities in response to different dietary calcium-phosphorus (Ca-P) contents (100% versus 190% of the Ca and P requirements) in combination with two basal diets (wheat-barley- or corn-based) in weaned pigs. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes from 93 mucosal samples yielded 447,849 sequences, clustering into 997 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at 97% similarity level. OTUs were assigned to 198 genera belonging to 14 different phyla. Correlation-based networks revealed strong interactions among OTUs at the various gastrointestinal sites. Our data describe a previously not reported high diversity and species richness at the Pars non-glandularis of the stomach in weaned pigs. Moreover, high versus adequate Ca-P content significantly promoted Lactobacillus by 14.9% units (1.4 fold change) at the gastric Pars non-glandularis (P = 0.035). Discriminant analysis revealed dynamic changes in OTU composition in response to dietary cereals and Ca-P contents at all gastrointestinal sites which were less distinguishable at higher taxonomic levels. Overall, this study revealed a distinct mucosa-associated bacterial community at the different gut sites, and a strong effect of high Ca-P diets on the gastric community, thereby markedly expanding our comprehension on mucosa-associated microbiota and their diet-related dynamics in weaned pigs.

Insights into Broilers' Gut Microbiota Fed with Phosphorus, Calcium, and Phytase Supplemented Diets

“…Epithelium attached microbial communities have biological roles that should be characterized. A high bacterial diversity was observed in the Pars non glandularis of the pig stomach (Mann et al, 2014) and previous reports in rats and humans have found differences between the microbial counts in the colonic mucosa and feces (Zoetendal et al, 2002; Haange et al, 2012). …”

“…The crop is dominated by Lactobacillus (Hagen et al, 2005; Stanley et al, 2014; Witzig et al, 2015), explaining the higher values of similarity and its simple structured microbiota when compared to other sections of the GIT. In ileum and caeca sections, the more diverse microbial communities are responsible for phytate degrading activities (Palacios et al, 2008), degrading complex organic substrates, and to the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA; Stanley et al, 2013b; Mann et al, 2014; Choi et al, 2015). The average similarity decreased in these sections, perhaps related to the presence of a higher number of OTUs.…”

Oral Administration of a Select Mixture of Bacillus Probiotics Affects the Gut Microbiota and Goblet Cell Function following Escherichia coli Challenge in Newly Weaned Pigs of Genotype MUC4 That Are Supposed To Be Enterotoxigenic E. coli F4ab/ac Receptor Negative

“…Our data indicate that the increase in numbers of GCs may constitute part of an innate defense mechanism in response to the exogenous addition of bacteria and that the gut microbiota may be a determinant for modifying the GCs. However, the primary results of this study require further confirmation with analysis of goblet cell function and bacterial diversity in the same intestine sites, considering that locationspecific microbial communities vary along the intestinal tract of pigs (17).…”

“…In the intestine, the transcriptional activation of the atonal homolog 1 gene (Atoh1) promotes the secretory GC lineage (16). There is a very high diversity of mucosa-associated microbiota in weaned pigs, and pyrosequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA gene amplicon revealed that 132 and 198 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were assigned in the mucosa of the ileum and the colon, respectively (17).…”

Age-Related Differences in the Luminal and Mucosa-Associated Gut Microbiome of Broiler Chickens and Shifts Associated with Campylobacter jejuni Infection

“…DNA from luminal content and gut mucosa samples was extracted using the PowerSoil® DNA Isolation Kit (MoBio Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA, USA) as described previously (Mann et al, 2014; Yasuda et al, 2015). The same protocol of DNA extraction was applied to luminal content and gut mucosa.…”