Dietary inclusion of Peptiva, a peptide-based feed additive, can accelerate the maturation of the fecal bacterial microbiome in weaned pigs

Abstract

Background: Weaning is one of the most critical transition stages of the swine production cycle, as the piglet gut physiology and microbiome need to rapidly adapt to changes in diet and environmental conditions. Based on their potential for producing a vast array of bioactive molecules, peptide formulations represent a largely untapped source of compounds that could be developed into feed additives to benefit animal health and nutrition. In this context, a commercial-scale nursery trial was performed to evaluate the impact of low inclusion of a peptide-based feed additive (Peptiva, Vitech Bio-Chem Corporation) on the performance and fecal microbiome of weaned pigs.Results: While no significant differences in body weight, daily gain, daily feed intake nor gain:feed were observed between control and treatment animals (P > 0.05), an effect of Peptiva on the fecal bacterial composition of weaned pigs was observed. The first main observation was that the fecal bacterial profiles from pigs fed Control-Phase II and Control Phase III diets were found to be very distinct, suggesting that a transition or succession stage had occurred between the two phases. Lactobacilli, represented by four main OTUs (Ssd-00002, Ssd-00019, Ssd-00025, and Ssd-00053), were more abundant at the end of Phase II (P < 0.05), while Streptococci, mostly represented by OTUs Ssd-00039 and Ssd-00048, were in higher abundance at the end of Phase III (P < 0.05). Secondly, the fecal bacterial composition from pigs fed Peptiva Phase II diets showed similarities to both Control-Phase II and Control Phase III samples, while there was no difference in fecal bacterial composition between Control-Phase III and Peptiva Phase III samples. For instance, OTUs Ssd-00019,and Ssd-00053 were in lower abundance in Peptiva Phase II samples compared to Control Phase II (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed in the abundance of these two OTUs when comparing Peptiva Phase II to Control Phase III (P > 0.05).Conclusions: Together, these results suggest that Peptiva can modulate the composition of the swine microbiome during a specific window of the nursery stage, potentially by accelerating its maturation.

Investigating the Effects of a Phytobiotics-Based Product on the Fecal Bacterial Microbiome of Weaned Pigs

“…Ssd-00001, which was closely related to L. amylovorus, showed fluctuations in abundance across time points, with its highest abundance observed during the transition from phase II to phase III diets. The timing of these changes is consistent with previous studies [32,45], highlighting the impact of diet on modulating gut bacterial composition. L. amylovorus has shown potential probiotic properties, including antimicrobial activity against enteric pathogens and maintaining a healthy gut microbiome [46].…”

“…Observed taxonomic profiles were consistent with previous research studies, as the two most dominant phyla in weaned pig fecal microbiota were Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes [30][31][32]. While the abundance of major phyla did not vary between treatment groups at any given time point, differences were noted at the family and OTU levels, which may indicate gut microbiota modulation due to treatment with phytobiotics.…”

Effects of a Bioprocessed Soybean Meal Ingredient on the Intestinal Microbiota of Hybrid Striped Bass, Morone chrysops x M. saxatilis

“…Raw bacterial 16S rRNA gene V1–V3 amplicon sequences were provided by Molecular Research DNA (MRDNA, Shallowater, TX, USA) as assembled contigs from overlapping MiSeq (2 × 300) paired-end reads from the same flow cell clusters. Reads were then selected to meet the following criteria: the presence of both intact 27F (forward) and 519R (reverse) primer nucleotide sequences, a length between 400 and 580 nt, and a minimum quality threshold of no more than 1% of nucleotides with a Phred quality score lower than 15 [ 49 , 50 ].…”

“…Following quality screens, sequence reads were aligned, then clustered into Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) at a genetic distance cutoff of 5% sequence dissimilarity [ 49 , 50 ]. OTUs were screened for DNA sequence artifacts using the following methods.…”

Weaning Induced Gut Dysfunction and Nutritional Interventions in Nursery Pigs: A Partial Review

“…Wu et al also reported that cecropin AD enriched Lactobacillus and reduced diarrhea incidence in weaned piglets challenged with E. coli [ 153 ]. In addition, Poudel et al found that a peptide-based additive could accelerate the maturation of swine gut microbiota [ 154 ].…”