An insight into the temporal dynamics in the gut microbiome, metabolite signaling, immune response, and barrier function in suckling and weaned piglets under production conditions

Little information is available on age- and creep-feeding-related microbial and immune development in neonatal piglets. Therefore, we explored age- and gut-site-specific alterations in the microbiome, metabolites, histo-morphology, and expression of genes for microbial signaling, as well as immune and barrier function in suckling and newly weaned piglets that were receiving sow milk only or were additionally offered creep feed from day of life (DoL) 10. The experiment was conducted in two replicate batches. Creep feed intake was estimated at the litter level. Piglets were weaned on day 28 of life. Gastric and cecal digesta and jejunal and cecal tissue were collected on DoL 7, 14, 21, 28, 31, and 35 for microbial and metabolite composition, histomorphology, and gene expression. In total, results for 10 piglets (n = 5/sex) per dietary group (sow milk only versus additional creep feed) were obtained for each DoL. The creep feed intake was low at the beginning and only increased in the fourth week of life. Piglets that were fed creep feed had less lactate and acetate in gastric digesta on DoL 28 compared to piglets fed sow milk only (p < 0.05). Age mainly influenced the gastric and cecal bacteriome and cecal mycobiome composition during the suckling phase, whereas the effect of creep feeding was small. Weaning largely altered the microbial communities. For instance, it reduced gastric Lactobacillaceae and cecal Bacteroidaceae abundances and lowered lactate and short-chain fatty acid concentrations on DoL 31 (p < 0.05). Jejunal and cecal expression of genes related to microbial and metabolite signaling, and innate immunity showed age-related patterns that were highest on DoL 7 and declined until DoL 35 (p < 0.05). Weaning impaired barrier function and enhanced antimicrobial secretion by lowering the expression of tight junction proteins and stimulating goblet cell recruitment in the jejunum and cecum (p < 0.05). Results indicated that age-dependent alterations, programmed genetically and by the continuously changing gut microbiome, had a strong impact on the expression of genes for gut barrier function, integrity, innate immunity, and SCFA signaling, whereas creep feeding had little influence on the microbial and host response dynamics at the investigated gut sites.

Temporal Microbial Dynamics in Feces Discriminate by Nutrition, Fecal Color, Consistency and Sample Type in Suckling and Newly Weaned Piglets

Feces enable frequent samplings for the same animal, which is valuable in studies investigating the development of the gut microbiome in piglets. Creep feed should prepare the piglet's gut for the postweaning period and shape the microbiome accordingly. Little is known about the variation that is caused by differences in fecal color and consistency and different sample types (feces versus swab samples). Therefore, this study evaluated the age-related alterations in the microbiome composition (16S rRNA gene) in feces of suckling and newly weaned piglets in the context of nutrition and fecal consistency, color and sample type from day 2 to 34 of life. Feces from 40 healthy piglets (2 each from 20 litters) were collected on days 2, 6, 13, 20, 27, 30 and 34. Weaning occurred on day 28. Half of the litters only drank sow milk during the suckling phase, whereas the other half had access to creep feed from day 10. Creep feeding during the suckling phase influenced the age-related total bacterial and archaeal abundances but had less of an influence on the relative bacterial composition. Results further showed different taxonomic compositions in feces of different consistency, color and sample type, emphasizing the need to consider these characteristics in comprehensive microbiome studies.

Dietary Probiotics Modulate Gut Barrier and Immune-Related Gene Expression and Histomorphology in Broiler Chickens under Non- and Pathogen-Challenged Conditions: A Meta-Analysis

Data published in the literature about the favorable effects of dietary probiotics on gut health in broiler chickens are inconsistent. To obtain a more comprehensive understanding, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effects of probiotics on the gut barrier and immune-related gene expression, histomorphology, and growth in chickens that were either challenged or non-challenged with pathogens. From the 54 articles published between 2012 and 2022, subsets of data, separately for non-challenged and challenged conditions, for response variables were created. The mean dietary probiotic concentrations ranged from 4.7 to 6.2 and 4.7 to 7.2 log₁₀ colony-forming unit/kg under non-challenged and challenged conditions, respectively. Probiotics increased the expression of genes for mucins and tight junction proteins in the jejunum and ileum at weeks 3 and 6. The stimulatory effect of probiotics on tight junction protein expression was partly stronger in challenged than in non-challenged birds. Meta-regressions also showed an anti-inflammatory effect of probiotics under challenged conditions by modulating the expression of cytokines. Probiotics improved villus height at certain ages in the small intestine while not influencing growth performance. Dietary metabolizable energy, crude protein, and days post-infection modified the effects of probiotics on the observed variables. Overall, meta-regressions support the beneficial effects of probiotics on gut integrity and structure in chickens.

Creep Feeding and Weaning Influence the Postnatal Evolution of the Plasma Metabolome in Neonatal Piglets

Data on the evolution of blood metabolites and metabolic markers in neonatal piglets are scarce, although this information is vital to detect physiological aberrations from normal development. We aimed to characterize age- and nutrition-related changes in the plasma metabolome and serum biochemistry of suckling and newly weaned piglets and assess metabolite patterns as physiological markers for the two phases. In two replicate batches (n = 10 litters/group), piglets either received sow milk alone or were additionally offered creep feed from day 10 until weaning (day 28). Blood was collected from one piglet/litter on days 7, 14, 21, 28, 31 and 35 of life, totaling five females and five males/group/day. Signature feature ranking identified plasma triglycerides (TG) as discriminative for age and nutrition during the suckling phase. Influential TG 20:4_36:5, TG 17:0_34:2 and TG 18:2_38:6 were higher in creep-fed piglets on days 14, 21 and 28 of life, respectively, compared to only sow milk-fed piglets. Metabolites belonging to pathways within histidine, D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism as well as hippuric acid were distinctive for the postweaning compared to the suckling period. In conclusion, plasma lipid profiles especially corresponded to the type of nutrition in the suckling phase and showed a strong weaning effect.

Organic acid and probiotic derived from grass silage improved egg quality in Pegagan laying duck: a research note

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementation of organic acid and probiotic derived from grass silage on the egg quality of duck. Seventy-two Pegagan laying ducks (average age: 24 weeks) were randomly allocated to six treatment groups: basal diet, basal diet + organic acid, basal diet + probiotic, basal diet + tetracycline, basal diet + probiotic + organic acid, and basal diet + organic acid + tetracycline. The result showed that the feeding diets containing probiotics and organic acid significantly (P < 0.05) reduced yolk fat and yolk cholesterol and increased eggshell weight, egg index, yolk color score, Haugh unit, and protein content. However, egg weight, albumen weight, yolk weight, albumen index, yolk index, and water content were not significantly (P > 0.05) different. It is concluded that dietary supplementation of organic acid and probiotic derived from grass silage improved egg quality in terms of yolk color score, fat, and cholesterol content.

Short-chain fatty acids promote jejunal barrier function and caecal muscle contractibility in laying hens ex vivo

1. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) exert beneficial actions in the gut; nevertheless, information about the effect of SCFA on physiological responses in the small intestine of chickens is rare.2. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of 1) different molar acetate:butyrate ratios (Ac:But; Experiment 1; 78.5% acetate and 7.3% butyrate versus 71.4% acetate and 14.0% butyrate) and 2) SCFA concentrations (Experiment 2; final concentration in chambers: 70.5 versus 141 µmol SCFA/ml buffer) on the jejunal and caecal contractibility and jejunal barrier function in laying hens. The change in muscle contractibility due to the SCFA was measured in mid-jejunal and caecal segments (n = 4 each per hen) from four laying hens using the organ bath system after precontraction with acetylcholine for 15 min. Changes in short-circuit current (I_SC) and transepithelial tissue conductivity (G_T) as indicators for net ion flux and barrier function, respectively, were measured in mid-jejunal tissue (n = 3/hen and treatment), mounted into Ussing chambers.3. In Experiment 1, the addition of SCFA, irrespective of the Ac:But ratio, decreased jejunal muscle tension (P < 0.05), jejunal G_T as well as caused a less negative I_SC (P < 0.05). In Experiment 2, the increasing SCFA concentrations increased the caecal muscle contraction and jejunal I_SC by 75.6% while decreasing the G_T by up to 19.6% (P < 0.05).4. In conclusion, results demonstrate that increasing butyrate proportions and SCFA concentrations stimulate caecal muscle contraction, thereby increasing caecal mixing and emptying in vivo. Jejunal I_SC and G_T support a strong SCFA sensing capacity in the jejunum, as both, more butyrate and higher SCFA, increased mucosal ion uptake and barrier function.

The Physicochemical and Microbiological Quality of Pegagan Duck Eggs Immersed with Duku Fruit Peel Solution in Different Storage Period

This study aims to determine the effect of immersing in duku fruit peel solution on physicochemical and microbiological quality of Pegagan duck eggs during storage at room temperature. This study used a complete randomized design (CRD) with a 5x3 factorial patterned. The first factor was the immersion time consisting of 5 levels, namely 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. The second factor was the storage time which includes 3 levels, which were 0, 7 and 14 d. The replication used was 3 times. The observed variables were physicochemical and microbiological quality of egg, including albumen index (AI), yolk index (YI), Haugh unit (HU), moisture content (MC), protein content (PC), fat content (FC),total microbes (TM) and antioxidant activity (AA). The data were processed by analysis of variance, continued with Duncan's multiple range test (DMRT). The results showed that there was a significant interaction (P<0.05) between immersion time and storage time on AI, YI, HU, MC, PC, TM, and AA. Futhermore, the difference of immersion time and storage period was also significantly influenced (P<0.05) to all observed variables including AI, YI, HU, MC, PC, TM, and AA of duck eggs.It can be concluded that the immersion process for 60 min showed the best results on the physical, chemical,

The Physicochemical and Microbiological Qualities of Pegagan Duck Meat Preserved with Different Concentrations of Liquid Smoke and Storage Period

The aim of this research was to investigate the quality of physicochemistry and microbiology of Pegagan duck meat preserved with various concentrations of liquid smoke and storage time. This study used a complete randomized design (CRD) with a 4x2 factorial pattern. The first factor was the concentration of liquid smoke solution consisted of 4 levels, namely 2; 4; 6, and 8% (v/v). The second factor was the storage time which includes 2 levels ie 12 and 24 hours. The replication used was 4 times. The observed variables were physical quality of meat (water holding capacity, cooking loss, and tenderness), chemical quality (moisture content, protein content, and fat content), and microbiological quality (total microbes, pH, acid total, and total phenol). The data were processed by analysis of variance, followed by Duncan's multiple range test (DMRT). The results showed that there was a significant interaction (P<0.05) between liquid smoke concentration and storage time to water holding capacity, cooking loss, tenderness, fat content, total phenol, total microbial, total acid, and pH in Pegagan duck meat but did not show a significant interaction with other variables. It could be concluded that the optimum liquid smoke concentration was 4% and the optimal storage time was 12 hours.