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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Little Rock, Arkansas » Microbiome and Metabolism Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #348620
Title: A novel human breast milk-fed piglet model to examine persistent effects of neonatal diet on duodenal microbiota composition

Author
item MIKLAVCIC, JOHN - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item PICCOLO, 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: Sow milk (SM) feeding has been studied in piglets as a model of human breast milk (HBM) feeding in infants; however, the composition of HBM differs from SM and may impart differing effects on colonization of the gut microbiota. The objective of this study was to determine if HBM feeding from birth to weaning changes the composition of intestinal microbiota relative to SM and dairy-based formula (FM) feeding and inform whether HBM-feeding of piglets may be a viable model to study the interrelationship between gut microbiota and immune development. Two-day old White Dutch Landrace Duroc male piglets were fed HBM (n=15) or FM (n=15) at the vivarium, or continued to consume 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. Duodenal contents were obtained and assessed for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and analyzed using QIIME 1.91. Group differences of a- and B-diversity, and differential abundance were assessed in R using DAME. The HBM and FM groups showed less a-diversity (observed taxa & Shannon index) at the phylum and genus levels relative to SM group (P<0.05). Bray-Curtis dissimilarities showed separation of HBM and FM from the SM group at phylum and genus levels (PERMANOVA; P<0.05). At the phylum level, relative abundance of Firmicutes was higher in HBM than the SM group (q<0.05) but neither group differed from FM. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria was lower (P<0.05) in HBM than the SM group. Within Proteobacteria, the Desulfovibrio genus displayed higher (q=0.05) relative abundance in HBM than the SM group. The relative abundance of the Lactobacillus and Streptococcus genera were both higher in HBM compared to FM and SM groups (q<0.05). HBM feeding differed from SM and FM diet groups with respect to diversity of duodenal microbiota. The effects of HBM feeding on intestinal microbiota warrant further investigation into the associated effects on immune function and utility of the HBM-feeding model in piglets for translation to human health.