Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Lactobacillus delbrueckii on Gut Microbiome and Intestinal Morphology in Weaned Piglets

Abstract

Lactobacillus delbrueckii is a Gram-positive bacterium mostly used in the dairy industry for yogurt and cheese. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of Lactobacillus delbrueckii on serum biochemical parameters, intestinal morphology, and performance by supplementing at a dietary level of 0.1% in diets for weaned piglets. Eighty healthy weaned piglets (initial body weight: 7.56 ± 0.2 kg) were randomly divided into two feeding groups with four replicates in each group (n = 10 animals per replicate); piglets were fed with basal diet (CON) or basal diet containing 0.1% Lactobacillus delbrueckii (LAC). The results showed that dietary supplementation of Lactobacillus delbrueckii improved growth performance and increased serum HDL and insulin levels in piglets on the 28th day of the experimental time (p < 0.05). The gut microbe analysis revealed that Lactobacillus delbrueckii significantly decreased the relative abundance of the phyla Bacteroidetes, but increased the relative abundance of the phyla Firmicutes. The Lactobacillus delbrueckii also significantly increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus at the genus level of the bacterial community in the ileum, but decreased the relative abundance of unclassified Clostridiales. Moreover, Lactobacillus delbrueckii improved mucosal morphology by obtaining higher intestinal villus height (p < 0.05), significantly increasing the concentrations of butyrate, isobutyric acid, and isovaleric acid in colonic chyme of piglets, but decreasing the intestinal pH at the duodenum and ileum on the 28th day of the experimental time. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of Lactobacillus delbrueckii in the diet of weaned piglets can improve intestinal morphology and modulate the microbiota community to promote growth performance.

The Role of Probiotics in Alleviating Postweaning Diarrhea in Piglets From the Perspective of Intestinal Barriers

“…Study has shown that supplementation with S. cerevisiae and Bacillus licheniformis reduced diarrhea incidence and the relative abundance of intestinal E. coli, and increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus in ETEC-challenged piglets ( Pan et al., 2017 ). Several recent studies suggested that dietary supplementation of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Enterococcus faecalis) increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium spp., decreased E. coli and enhanced production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the gut of weaning piglets ( Wang et al., 2019a ; Wang et al., 2019b ; Xin et al., 2020 ; Wang et al., 2021 ). This probiotic-mediated increase of SCFAs in the gut contributes to defend against pathogenic microbial invasion by downregulating the pH of the gastrointestinal tract, and enhances gut barrier function by providing energy to intestinal epithelial cells ( Guilloteau et al., 2010 ; D'Souza et al., 2017 ).…”

Gut microbiome-produced metabolites in pigs: a review on their biological functions and the influence of probiotics

“…1). Probiotics generally increase the concentrations of SCFAs, particularly acetate, butyrate, and propionate, in pigs [122,[171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178]. Lactate levels can also be increased by probiotic supplementation due to the abundance of lactic acid bacteria [122,173].…”

“…Probiotic supplementation in pigs preferentially enriches the phylum Firmicutes, which consists of SCFAproducing bacterial groups, such as Lactobacillaceae, Ruminococcaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, and Lachnospiraceae [122,171,175,[178][179][180]. Furthermore, probiotic-mediated changes in the SCFA profile is associated with positive effects on the pigs, such as improved growth performance [171,172,174,175,178], improved intestinal morphology [176][177][178], stimulation of the host's immunity [171,174], protection against pathogens [181], and improvement of cognitive performance [173]. The enhancing effect of probiotics on the SCFA profile of pigs is attributed to the increased ability of the gut microbiome to metabolize carbohydrates [182,183].…”

“…The modulating effect of probiotics on the bile acid profile of swine may be attributed to the BSH activity of these probiotic strains, as well as their enriching effect on other gut resident microbiota with BSH activity, which promotes fecal excretion and neosynthesis of bile acids [135,185,187,188]. Another potential mechanism by which probiotics influence the bile acid profile is by reducing the population of gut clostridial species and other species known to produce secondary bile acids [69,178]. Microbial metabolites from amino acid fermentation (BCFAs, polyamines, indolic and phenolic compounds, and ammonia) are also influenced by probiotic feeding.…”

Lactobacillus delbrueckii might lower serum triglyceride levels via colonic microbiota modulation and SCFA-mediated fat metabolism in parenteral tissues of growing-finishing pigs

“…Accumulating evidences have confirmed that Lactobacillus and its related products can effectively regulate lipid metabolism via affecting intestinal nutrition digestion and absorption, gut microbiota and metabolites, tissue gene expression and enzyme activity ( 15 , 16 ). Lactobacillus delbrueckii as a lactobacillus strain is widely used in the dairy industry for yogurt and cheese ( 17 , 18 ). Our laboratory have identified and preserved a strain of L. delbrueckii and performed a series of researches to evaluate its role on swine production since 2009.…”