Biosynthetic Gene Clusters from Swine Gut Microbiome

The abuse of antibiotics has become a serious health challenge in the veterinary field. It creates environmental selection pressure on bacteria and facilitates the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance genes. The speed of discovery and application of cost-effective alternatives to antibiotics is slow in pig production. Natural products from biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) represent promising therapeutic agents for animal and human health and have attracted extraordinary passion from researchers due to their ability to participate in biofilm inhibition, stress resistance, and the killing of competitors. In this study, we detected the presence of diverse secondary metabolite genes in porcine intestines through sequence alignment in the antiSMASH database. After comparing variations in microbial BGCs' composition between the ileum and the colon, it was found that the abundance of the resorcinol gene cluster was elevated in the ileal microbiome, whereas the gene cluster of arylpolyene was enriched in the colonic microbiome. The investigation of BGCs' diversity and composition differences between the ileal and colonic microbiomes provided novel insights into further utilizing BGCs in livestock. The importance of BGCs in gut microbiota deserves more attention for promoting healthy swine production.

Automated summary

The abuse of antibiotics in veterinary field is a serious health challenge, leading to environmental selection pressure on bacteria and the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance genes. However, the discovery and application of cost-effective alternatives to antibiotics in pig production is slow. This study identified diverse secondary metabolite genes in porcine intestines, and found variations in microbial biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) composition between the ileum and the colon. It also highlighted the importance of exploring the diversity and composition differences of BGCs in gut microbiota for promoting healthy swine production.