Adaptation of Gut Microbiotas to Transgenic Pigs Secreting β-Glucanase, Xylanase and Phytase
Abstract BackgroundThe gut microbiotas play an important role in digestive function and feed efficiency in pigs. However, the effect of exogenous digestive enzymes on the composition and functional contributions of swine intestinal microbes is unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the change of gut microbiotas in the transgenic pigs secreting microbial digestive enzymes in their salivary glands.MethodsEGFP marker-free transgenic (MF-TG) pigs were generated by deleted the EGFP coding genes in the transgenic pigs we previously generated. Samples of chyme from the ileum, caecum and colon of five MF-TG and five wild-type (WT) sows were collected for investigating the gut microbiomes via metagenomics analyses.ResultsThe levels of probiotics were abundant in the caecum of MF-TG pigs and higher than those of WT pigs. By contrast, the levels of some harmful microorganisms were higher in the caecum of WT pigs than those of MF-TG pigs. In addition, the microorganisms in the colon of MF-TG pigs had high fractional abundance in DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase 1 and serine-type D-Ala-D-Ala carboxypeptidase, whereas the aspartate carbamoyltransferase regulatory subunit and outer membrane protein pathways were enriched in WT pigs. Moreover, the levels of numerous carbohydrases in the caecum of MF-TG pigs were higher than those of WT pigs. ConclusionsThe results indicated that intestinal microbes can change adaptively to the secretion of transgenic enzymes, thereby forming a benign cooperation with their host.