Standardized Preparation for Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Pigs

Abstract

The intestine of pigs harbors a mass of microorganisms which are essential for intestinal homeostasis and host health. Intestinal microbial disorders induce enteric inflammation and metabolic dysfunction, thereby causing adverse effects on the growth and health of pigs. In the human medicine, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), which engrafts the fecal microbiota from a healthy donor into a patient recipient, has shown efficacy in intestinal microbiota restoration. In addition, it has been used widely in therapy for human gastrointestinal diseases, including Clostridium difficile infection, inflammatory bowel diseases, and irritable bowel syndrome. Given that pigs share many similarities with humans, in terms of anatomy, nutritional physiology, and intestinal microbial compositions, FMT may also be used to restore the normal intestinal microbiota of pigs. However, feasible procedures for performing FMT in pigs remains unclear. Here, we summarize a standardized preparation for FMT in pigs by combining the standard methodology for human FMT with pig production. The key issues include the donor selection, fecal material preparation, fecal material transfer, stool bank establishment, and the safety for porcine FMT. Optimal donors should be selected to ensure the efficacy of porcine FMT and reduce the risks of transmitting infectious diseases to recipients during FMT. Preparing for fresh fecal material is highly recommended. Alternatively, frozen fecal suspension can also be prepared as an optimal choice because it is convenient and has similar efficacy. Oral administration of fecal suspension could be an optimal method for porcine fecal material transfer. Furthermore, the dilution ratio of fecal materials and the frequency of fecal material transfer could be adjusted according to practical situations in the pig industry. To meet the potential large-scale requirement in the pig industry, it is important to establish a stool bank to make porcine FMT readily available. Future studies should also focus on providing more robust safety data on FMT to improve the safety and tolerability of the recipient pigs. This standardized preparation for porcine FMT can facilitate the development of microbial targeted therapies and improve the intestinal health of pigs.

Effect of Fermented Corn-Soybean Meal on Serum Immunity, the Expression of Genes Related to Gut Immunity, Gut Microbiota, and Bacterial Metabolites in Grower-Finisher Pigs

“…Thus, FMT also helped evaluate the potential links between intestinal microbiota and host phenotypes. Recently, Hu et al (2018) proposed the standardized preparation for FMT for use in pig production and to identify host microbiota-derived bacteriocin targets to determine diarrhea resistance in early-weaned piglets (Hu et al, 2018). In the current study, we determined the FF could benefits the pig’s gut microbiota; it would be interesting to explore the mechanism and we would like to focus on this in our next study.…”

Spatial heterogeneity of bacterial colonization across different gut segments following inter-species microbiota transplantation

“…Duroc × Landrace × large white crossbred barrows, with a mean body weight of 50 kg, provided by FengNing Swine Research Unit of China Agricultural University (Academician Workstation in Chengdejiuyun Agricultural and Livestock Co., Ltd), were used as donors for the microbiota transplantation of different gut segments. According to the criteria for donor selection described by Hu et al [30], pigs used in this study had no diarrhea or other digestive infections and had not been administered with any antibiotics or other drugs for at least 2 months prior to digesta collection. We simultaneously collected the digesta from different gut segments of the donor pigs, including jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon, as well as fresh feces from the rectum.…”

Active bacterial communities of pig fecal microbiota transplantation suspension prepared and preserved under different conditions

“…However, previous studies reported that prepared fecal bacteria suspension had similar efficacy as fresh feces on treating Clostridium difficile infections in human (Satokari et al 2015; Youngster et al 2014). In contrast, the difference between feces and fecal suspension in active microbial composition may due to a lack of uniform standard in the preparation process (such as donor selection, dilution ratio) (such as donor selection, dilution ratio) (Hu et al 2018). We also hypothesized that some altered bacteria were not important for maintain the homeostasis.…”