Microbial and metabolic alterations in gut microbiota of sows during pregnancy and lactation

Abstract

The gut microbiota plays a critical role in various physiologic processes; however, maternal microbial and metabolic changes during pregnancy and lactation remain elusive. Using pigs as an animal model, we conducted comparative analyses of gut microbiota and short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) profiles across different stages of gestation, lactation, and the empty (nonpregnancy) phase in 2 distinct breeds of sow, Rongchang (RS) and Landrace (LS). Coriobacteriaceae were found to gradually increase over gestational time irrespective of breed, which was further validated in an independent cohort of sows, indicating that Coriobacteriaceae are likely associated with the progression of pregnancy. Escherichia increased as well. Relative to empty and gestation, lactation was associated with an increase in SCFA producers and a concomitant augmentation in SCFA production in both breeds. A comparison between the 2 breeds revealed that Ruminococcaceae were more abundant in RSs than in LSs, consistent with the strong ability of Rongchang pigs to digest highly fibrous feedstuffs. Taken together, we revealed characteristic structural and metabolic changes in maternal gut microbiota throughout pregnancy, lactation, and the empty phase, which could potentially help improve the pregnancy and lactation outcomes for both animals and humans.—Liu, H., Hou, C., Li, N., Zhang, X., Zhang, G., Yang, F., Zeng, X., Liu, Z., Qiao, S. Microbial and metabolic alterations in gut microbiota of sows during pregnancy and lactation. FASEB J. 33, 4490–4501 (2019). http://www.fasebj.org

Stages of pregnancy and weaning influence the gut microbiota diversity and function in sows

“…The results revealed significant metabolic changes in the maternal plasma and faeces at different stages, mainly involving the changes in lipid and protein metabolism, SCFAs and bioamines, as well as shifts in the gut microbiota composition in sows from pregnancy to weaning. Our results were consistent with those of Liu et al (), who also demonstrated shifts in the gut microbiota and SCFA profiles of sows during pregnancy. These results may help to improve animal health during pregnancy via the manipulation of gut microbial communities.…”

Inclusion of Soluble Fiber in the Gestation Diet Changes the Gut Microbiota, Affects Plasma Propionate and Odd-Chain Fatty Acids Levels, and Improves Insulin Sensitivity in Sows

“…The abundant phyla of gut microbiota in sows were in good agreement with other studies [40,41] on pregnant and lactating sows with Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes being the most dominant phyla. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the dominant genera in this study were Eubacterium, Prevotella, Oscillospira, Bacteroides, and Treponema, which are somewhat different from the results of other studies on sows [40,42].…”

Differences in Gut Microbial and Serum Biochemical Indices Between Sows With Different Productive Capacities During Perinatal Period

“…Composition, activity, and coevolution of gut microbiota with hosts are of great importance to animal health (Elson and Alexander, 2015;Woo and Alenghat, 2017). Remarkable changes occur in sow gut microbiota during pregnancy and lactation (Cheng et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2019). However, little is known about whether sows with different reproductive capacities have the same gut microbial performance during perinatal period.…”

“…The microbiome is of significant importance to a host, which affects the host's immune system, metabolism, emotion and cognition (Chu and Mazmanian, 2013;Rothschild et al, 2018;Sarkar et al, 2018). Gestation changes the microbiota structure, while intestinal microbes remain stable during lactation (Liu et al, 2019). It was reported that intestinal microflora changed dramatically throughout pregnancy (Koren et al, 2012).…”