Assessment of the modulating effects of fructo-oligosaccharides on fecal microbiota using human flora-associated piglets

We first used human flora-associated (HFA) piglets, a significantly improved model for research on human gut microbiota, to study the effects of short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) on the gut bacterial populations. Ten neonatal HFA piglets were assigned to receive basal diets alone or supplemented with scFOS (0.5 g/kg body weight/day) from 1 to 37 days after birth (DAB). The impact of scFOS on the fecal bacterial populations of the piglets before (12 DAB), during (17 DAB), and after (25 and 37 DAB) weaning were monitored by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and real-time quantitative PCR. The Bifidobacterium genus was stimulated consistently, except during weaning, confirming the bifidogenic property of scFOS. At 12 DAB, the Clostridium leptum subgroup was decreased and two unknown Bacteroides-related species were increased; at 25 DAB, the C. leptum subgroup and Subdoligranulum variabile-like species were elevated, whereas one unknown Faecalibacterium-related species was suppressed; and at 37 DAB, the Bacteroides genus was decreased. The results showed that effects of scFOS on non-bifidobacteria varied at different developmental stages of the animals, warranting further investigation into the host-development-related effects of prebiotics on the gut microbiota and the host physiology using the HFA piglets as a model for humans.