Influence du microbiote intestinal et de la présence de Salmonella chez la truie gravide sur l’établissement du microbiote intestinal des porcelets et leur excrétion de Salmonella dans des conditions d’élevage en milieu commercial

The pork industry is putting a lot of effort into controlling Salmonella contamination at the end of production. However, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) data, pig meat products may be responsible for 10-20% of reported cases of salmonellosis in humans. It therefore seems that an approach including actions upstream, on the farm, could make it possible to reduce the pressure of contamination at the slaughterhouse and therefore the contamination of the meat. The transfer of Salmonella between contaminated sows and piglets could be an important source of contamination in the pig sector. However, in Canada little information is available on this route of introduction. We have therefore described the link between the strains found in sows and those found in their piglets in the subsequent stages of production in a Quebec commercial production system. In addition, the establishment of this microbiota in pigs in production is directly influenced by the maternal microbiota and that the intestinal microbiota influences the excretion of Salmonella in fattening pigs.  In this study, we therefore first described the microbiota of sows in relation to their excretion of Salmonella in this same production system. We then described the microbiota of piglets and fattening pigs in relation to this maternal microbiota and attempted to identify determinants of shedding that can be transferred from the sow to its offspring within this production pyramid.  To do this, we first sampled the feces of sows at different times of gestation in a maternity unit. Salmonella was detected and the bacterial populations found in the fecal microbiota of these sows were described by high-throughput sequencing of the MiSeq type. This allowed us to highlight significant variations in the level of Salmonella excreted by these sows at different times of gestation. We were also able to measure variations in the fecal microbiota of these depending on the excretion of Salmonella, but also according to the time of gestation. Sequencing was also carried out on the feces of piglets born from these sows before weaning. This allowed us to demonstrate that the sow's shedding status influences their fecal microbiota. However, no direct taxon transfer specific to this relationship could be measured. In addition, up to the nursery, we have demonstrated that piglets from the same litter have more similar fecal microbiota than compared to other contemporary animals, confirming the influence of the sow on the piglet microbiota in the sampled farms. Finally, fecal samples from these pigs were also carried out for fattening. Their Salmonella excretion status and the composition of their microbiota were also assessed at this stage. Using these samples, we demonstrated, in the production system that was studied, that the impact of the sow’s status on the microbiota was not retained for fattening after the weaning stage and did not affect the risk of shedding during fattening. However, we have shown that on the farm included in our study that pigs born to the same mother always have a differentiated fecal microbiota from that of their counterparts. This thus demonstrates the potential for actions aimed at modulating the intestinal microbiota of the sow and which could be transferred to the benefit of their piglets.  We have also described by High Resolution Melt typing (HRM) the circulation and transfer of Salmonella from the maternity to the other stages of production in this production pyramid. The results obtained demonstrate here that despite the excretion of sows in the perinatal period, the strains found later in the piglets at the nursery and their environment have different HRM profiles from those found in maternity. In the studied production system, sows would therefore have a marginal effect on the contamination of piglets in the production system studied, compared to the environment in the nursery among other things.  This study made it possible to better describe the circulation of Salmonella in a commercial swine production system in Quebec and thus to better understand the impact of Salmonella transmission between sows and piglets. This new knowledge will allow us to better target the stages where effective measures could be implemented to reduce contamination of the finished product. The study of the microbiota also made it possible to highlight an influence of the sow on the fecal microbiota of its piglets and this until fattening, without being able to identify taxa directly transferred nor to have been able to measure the effect of this influence on the excretion of Salmonella. However, beyond the specific problem of Salmonella, this study opens up perspectives for modulating the intestinal microbiota of the sow for the benefit of the orientation of the digestive microbiota of pigs throughout production, a microbiota whose effects on health and well-being are getting increasingly well documented.

Keyphrases: Salmonella, Microbiota, Sow, Piglet, Swine