The effect of a single, early-life administration of a probiotic on piglet growth performance and faecal microbiota until weaning

The establishment and maintenance of a balanced gut microbiota in early life play a pivotal role in pigs. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the administration of a single early-life probiotic on piglet faecal microbiota and growth performance until weaning. Forty-eight hours after birth (d0), 820 piglets were allocated into 4 groups (205 piglets/16 litters/group) and orally inoculated as follows: 1) Control (CO: 4 mL of pure water); 2) Saccharomyces (SA: 4 mL containing a total of 1 x 10(10) CFU of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii CNCM-1079; 3) Enterococcus (EF: 4 mL containing a total of 1 x 10(10) CFU of Enterococcus faecium lactiferm WS200); 4) a mix of the two probiotics at the same doses (SAEF). At d7 and d18, the piglets were weighed, and faeces from the piglets (18 piglets/group from 6 sows/group) and their mothers were analysed for a microbial profile by sequencing the v3-v4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Data were arranged in a 2x2 factorial design. The probiotic supplement improved piglet ADG in the periods d7-d18 (p < .0001) and d0-d18 (p < .05). From d7 to d18, the SA group tended to have lower mortality than the CO group (p = .08). The probiotic supplement significantly affected the microbial beta diversity at d7 (p < .05). The SA probiotic favoured the colonisation of Erysipelatoclostridium and Christensenella, and the EF probiotic the colonisation of Lachnospiraceae. These results highlighted that the administration of a single early-life probiotic supplement could improve piglet performance and shape the faecal microbial profile.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the effect of early administration of probiotics on piglet fecal microbiota and growth performance. The probiotic supplement significantly improved piglet growth performance and affected the microbial composition, promoting colonization of specific bacteria.