Sow vaccination against virulent Glaesserella parasuis shapes the nasal microbiota of their offspring

Abstract

Glaesserella parasuis is the etiological agent of Glässer’s disease, a common pathology in the pork industry with higher prevalence in the postweaning period. Vaccination is one of the strategies to control this disease. Here, we investigated the effect that sow vaccination against virulent strains of G. parasuis had in the nasal microbiota of their offspring. Nasal swabs from fifteen days-old piglets from vaccinated (vs-P, n = 11) and unvaccinated sows (cs-P, n = 11) were obtained and DNA was extracted for 16S amplicon sequencing. Microbiota composition was different, with lower diversity in vs-P, and a strong clustering of the groups in beta diversity analysis. Among the 1509 sequences associated to either study group, all the sequences classified as G. parasuis (10 ASVs) had lower relative abundance in the vs-P group. A list of 32 inferred metabolic pathways were statistically different between groups. A distinctive structure of the two microbial networks was detected, with modules in the cs-P not conserved in the vs-P network. In conclusion, vaccination of the sows had a large effect in the microbiota composition of their offspring that went beyond the effect on the targeted pathogen. The mechanisms underneath these changes may include alteration of the microbiota network due to the elimination of the targeted pathogen and/or immunological changes.

Environmental and maternal factors shaping tonsillar microbiota development in piglets

“…Prepartum vaccination of sows with a S. suis bacterin impacted the tonsillar microbiota composition of their piglets, initially by reducing the abundance of the S. suis ASV matching the strains used in the vaccine during the first week after birth. A recent study found similar effects of pre-partum sow vaccination on the piglet nasal microbiota and Glaesserella parasuis abundance [ 47 ]. The vaccination effect may be due to alterations in the vertically transferred sow microbiota, although intramuscular vaccination rarely impacts mucosal immunity [ 24 ].…”

Temporal Patterns of Phenotypic Antimicrobial Resistance and Coinfecting Pathogens in Glaesserella parasuis Strains Isolated from Diseased Swine in Germany from 2006 to 2021

“…While only inactivated vaccines have been used in the field so far, some subunit vaccine candidates have been tested under experimental conditions [ 41 ]. In a recent study, the effect of a sow vaccination with a Gps antigen on the composition of the nasal microbiota of piglets was reported [ 44 ]. This finding might be due to lower pathogen shedding by the sow and increased transfer of specific maternal antibodies by colostrum as a consequence of vaccination.…”

Risk factors associated to Streptococcus suis cases in swine farms in Spain

“…In our study, we evaluated the in uence of the dam on the occurrence of S. suis infection showing that piglets born from older sows were less likely to present problems, and that result was very consistent across all the models. The reasons for this nding could be the higher immunological protection conferred by the colostrum intake, or changes in the sow vaginal or nasal microbiota which consequently may have an effect on the development of the piglet microbiota, as it has been studied with sows vaccinated against G. parasuis [41].…”