Microbiological services delivered by the pig gut microbiome

2022 ◽  
pp. 75-126
Author(s):  
James T. Cullen ◽  
◽  
Peadar G. Lawlor ◽  
Gillian E. Gardiner ◽  
◽  
...  

The gut microbiome plays a fundamental role in regulating pig health and growth. Understanding the functions performed by the microbiome is vital when considering it as a target to improve pig health and growth, a pursuit driven by the increasing regulation of traditional means of disease control and growth promotion. This chapter explores the structure, diversity and functions of the pig gut microbiome, focusing on the role of the resident bacterial communities. It examines their relationships, interactions, and contributions to the host, ranging from the production of antimicrobial substances and prevention of pathogen colonisation to improvement of nutrient digestibility and the production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and vitamins. The chapter also reviews bacterial communication and the antibiotic resistome of the pig gut, outlining how they may be targeted/manipulated to reduce antibiotic resistance and promote improved gut health.

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Margarida Pereira ◽  
Carlo Pinna ◽  
Giacomo Biagi ◽  
Claudio Stefanelli ◽  
Margarida R G Maia ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Selenium is an essential trace element that can modulate the gut microbiome with an impact on host health. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of organic (selenium-enriched yeast) vs inorganic (sodium selenite) selenium source on fecal end-fermentation products and gut microbiome of puppies from 20 to 52 weeks of age. Alpha and beta diversity of the gut bacterial community were affected by age but not by gender or selenium source. The relative abundance of taxa was differently affected by age, and the DNA concentration of all selected bacterial groups increased with age, although total volatile fatty acids (VFA), acetate, propionate, caproate and lactate concentrations decreased. Organic selenium was associated with a higher concentration of total VFA, propionate and butyrate, a higher number of DNA copies of Lactobacillus, and a trend to lower DNA copies of Escherichia coli. Effects on fecal microbiome during growth differed with selenium source. Females had higher fecal end-fermentation products related to protein degradation, whereas males had higher DNA concentration of Bifidobacterium. Organic selenium might be beneficial over inorganic for dog food supplementation due to the positive modulation of the gut microbiome observed in puppies.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245534
Author(s):  
Aasia Khaliq ◽  
Resmi Ravindran ◽  
Samia Afzal ◽  
Prasant Kumar Jena ◽  
Muhammad Waheed Akhtar ◽  
...  

Tuberculosis (TB) is the largest infectious disease with 10 million new active-TB patients and1.7 million deaths per year. Active-TB is an inflammatory disease and is increasingly viewed as an imbalance of immune responses to M. tb. infection. The mechanisms of a switch from latent infection to active disease is not well worked out but a shift in the immune responses is thought to be responsible. Increasingly, the role of gut microbiota has been described as a major influencer of the immune system. And because the gut is the largest immune organ, we aimed to analyze the gut microbiome in active-TB patients in a TB-endemic country, Pakistan. The study revealed that Ruminococcacea, Enetrobactericeae, Erysipelotrichaceae, Bifidobacterium, etc. were the major genera associated with active-TB, also associated with chronic inflammatory disease. Plasma antibody profiles against several M. tb. antigens, as specific biomarkers for active-TB, correlated closely with the patient gut microbial profiles. Besides, bcoA gene copy number, indicative of the level of butyrate production by the gut microbiome was five-fold lower in TB patients compared to healthy individuals. These findings suggest that gut health in TB patients is compromised, with implications for disease morbidity (e.g., severe weight loss) as well as immune impairment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 74-79
Author(s):  
Ahmed Elbaz ◽  
Said El-sheikh

Objective: To investigate the effect of antibiotics and/or probiotics on broiler performance, some serum metabolites, cecum microflora composition, and ileum histomorphology under the Egyptian conditions. Design: Randomized controlled experimental study. Animals: Two hundred forty 1-day-old Ross (308) chicks were reared till 35 days of age. Procedures: The birds were randomly allocated into four main groups: a control diet without additives (CON); probiotic (Lactobacillus acidophilus) supplemented diet (PRO); antibiotic (Avilamycin) supplemented diet (ANT) and a mix group (AP) that received antibiotic in the diet form 1 to 4 days of age and treated during the rest of the experimental period with probiotics. Results: Chickens fed on probiotic or antibiotic diets had linear improvement in live body weight (LBW) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared with the control group, while the best LBW and FCR were in the AP group. An improvement in the nutrient digestibility was observed in the probiotic added groups (PRO and AP). Serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol contents decreased when antimicrobial (probiotic or antibiotic) supplementations were used, while there was an increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol contents, serum total protein, and albumin levels. Among all groups, cecum Clostridium perfringens and Escherichia coli counts decreased; however, there was an increase in Lactobacillus count compared to the control group. In probiotic supplemented groups (PRO and AP), a significant (P<0.05) improvement in ilea architecture. Conclusion and clinical relevance: Using probiotic after initial treatment with an antibiotic in broiler diets had a positive effect on broiler growth performance, gut health (improved cecum microbial populations and ileum histomorphology), and nutrient digestibility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guojun Wu ◽  
Naisi Zhao ◽  
Chenhong Zhang ◽  
Yan Y. Lam ◽  
Liping Zhao

AbstractTo demonstrate the causative role of gut microbiome in human health and diseases, we first need to identify, via next-generation sequencing, potentially important functional members associated with specific health outcomes and disease phenotypes. However, due to the strain-level genetic complexity of the gut microbiota, microbiome datasets are highly dimensional and highly sparse in nature, making it challenging to identify putative causative agents of a particular disease phenotype. Members of an ecosystem seldomly live independently from each other. Instead, they develop local interactions and form inter-member organizations to influence the ecosystem’s higher-level patterns and functions. In the ecological study of macro-organisms, members are defined as belonging to the same “guild” if they exploit the same class of resources in a similar way or work together as a coherent functional group. Translating the concept of “guild” to the study of gut microbiota, we redefine guild as a group of bacteria that show consistent co-abundant behavior and likely to work together to contribute to the same ecological function. In this opinion article, we discuss how to use guilds as the aggregation unit to reduce dimensionality and sparsity in microbiome-wide association studies for identifying candidate gut bacteria that may causatively contribute to human health and diseases.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 782
Author(s):  
Sona Ciernikova ◽  
Michal Mego ◽  
Michal Chovanec

Chemotherapy, targeting not only malignant but also healthy cells, causes many undesirable side effects in cancer patients. Due to this fact, long-term cancer survivors often suffer from late effects, including cognitive impairment and cardiovascular toxicity. Chemotherapy damages the intestinal mucosa and heavily disrupts the gut ecosystem, leading to gastrointestinal toxicity. Animal models and clinical studies have revealed the associations between intestinal dysbiosis and depression, anxiety, pain, impaired cognitive functions, and cardiovascular diseases. Recently, a possible link between chemotherapy-induced gut microbiota disruption and late effects in cancer survivors has been proposed. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of preclinical and clinical findings regarding the emerging role of the microbiome and the microbiota–gut–brain axis in chemotherapy-related late effects affecting the central nervous system (CNS) and heart functions. Importantly, we provide an overview of clinical trials evaluating the relationship between the gut microbiome and cancer survivorship. Moreover, the beneficial effects of probiotics in experimental models and non-cancer patients with neurocognitive disorders and cardiovascular diseases as well as several studies on microbiota modulations via probiotics or fecal microbiota transplantation in cancer patients are discussed.


Author(s):  
Yue Zhao ◽  
Yuxia Liu ◽  
Shuang Li ◽  
Zhaoyun Peng ◽  
Xiantao Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide (Ferlay et al., Int J Cancer 136:E359–386, 2015). In addition, lung cancer is associated with the highest mortality among all cancer types (Wu et al., Exp Ther Med 16:3004–3010, 2018). Previous studies report that microbiota play an important role in lung cancer. Notably, changes in lung and gut microbiota, are associated with progression of lung cancer. Several studies report that lung and gut microbiome promote lung cancer initiation and development by modulating metabolic pathways, inhibiting the function of immune cells, and producing pro-inflammatory factors. In addition, some factors such as microbiota dysbiosis, affect production of bacteriotoxins, genotoxicity and virulence effect, therefore, they play a key role in cancer progression. These findings imply that lung and gut microbiome are potential markers and targets for lung cancer. However, the role of microbiota in development and progression of lung cancer has not been fully explored. Purpose The aim of this study was to systemically review recent research findings on relationship of lung and gut microbiota with lung cancer. In addition, we explored gut–lung axis and potential mechanisms of lung and gut microbiota in modulating lung cancer progression. Conclusion Pulmonary and intestinal flora influence the occurrence, development, treatment and prognosis of lung cancer, and will provide novel strategies for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of lung cancer.


Author(s):  
Nayara Pestana‐Oliveira ◽  
David B. Nahey ◽  
Rochelle Hartson ◽  
Bonnie Weber ◽  
Timothy J. Johnson ◽  
...  

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Ana Checa-Ros ◽  
Antonio Jeréz-Calero ◽  
Antonio Molina-Carballo ◽  
Cristina Campoy ◽  
Antonio Muñoz-Hoyos

Studies suggest that the bidirectional relationship existent between the gut microbiome (GM) and the central nervous system (CNS), or so-called the microbiome–gut–brain axis (MGBA), is involved in diverse neuropsychiatric diseases in children and adults. In pediatric age, most studies have focused on patients with autism. However, evidence of the role played by the MGBA in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood, is still scanty and heterogeneous. This review aims to provide the current evidence on the functioning of the MGBA in pediatric patients with ADHD and the specific role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) in this interaction, as well as the potential of the GM as a therapeutic target for ADHD. We will explore: (1) the diverse communication pathways between the GM and the CNS; (2) changes in the GM composition in children and adolescents with ADHD and association with ADHD pathophysiology; (3) influence of the GM on the ω-3 PUFA imbalance characteristically found in ADHD; (4) interaction between the GM and circadian rhythm regulation, as sleep disorders are frequently comorbid with ADHD; (5) finally, we will evaluate the most recent studies on the use of probiotics in pediatric patients with ADHD.


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