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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Little Rock, Arkansas » Microbiome and Metabolism Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #348631
Title: Persistent effects of pre-weaning in piglets on composition of fecal microbiota are diet-, genus-, and time-specific

Author
item MIKLAVCIC, JOHN - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item PICCOLO1, BRIAN - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item BOWLIN, ANNE - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item CHINTAPALLI, SREE - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item SHANKAR, KARTIK - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item YERUVA, LAXMI - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)

Submitted to: Keystone Symposia
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/5/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The effects of diet on gut microbiota composition in the pre-weaning period have been characterized, but it is unknown whether differences in composition are sustained after weaning. The objective of this study was to determine if post-natal diet-induced differences in microbiota persist after weaning to solid diet. This will inform whether diet in early life can continue to influence microbiota-mediated immune system development and function after weaning. Two-day old White Dutch Landrace Duroc male piglets were fed human breast (HBM; n=15) or dairy-based formula (FM; n=15) at the vivarium, or continued to consume sow milk (SM; n=15) at the farm. All piglets were weaned at 21 d of age to ad libitum diet at the vivarium until 51 d of age. Feces collected within the first (PW1), third (PW3) and fourth (PW4) weeks post-weaning were assessed for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and analyzed using QIIME 1.91. Group differences of a- and ß-diversity, and differential abundance were assessed in R using DAME. At each time point, the SM group showed greater a-diversity (Chao1 index) at the genus level relative to the HBM group (P<0.05). Genus separation of SM-fed piglets from HBM and FM groups was observed by Principle Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) of Bray-Curtis dissimilarities at each time point (PERMANOVA; P<0.05). Separation of HBM and FM groups was observed at PW4 by PCoA (PERMANOVA; P<0.05). The relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes was higher (P<0.05) in HBM than in SM at PW1 and persisted until PW4 only for Bacteroidetes. Prevotella was more abundant in FM than HBM only at PW1.The relative abundance of Bacteroides was higher (P<0.05) in HBM relative to SM at PW4. This study demonstrates that there are persistent genus-specific effects of postnatal diet on the composition of microbiota after weaning that may have sustained physiologic consequences for immune system development and function.