Dietary probiotic and synbiotic supplementation starting from maternal gestation improves muscular lipid metabolism in offspring piglets by reshaping colonic microbiota and metabolites
Authors: Zhu Qian , Azad Md. Abul Kalam , Li Ruixuan , Li Chenjian , Liu Yang , Yin Yulong , Kong Xiangfeng 
Published: May 2024

Probiotics and synbiotics have been intensively used in animal husbandry due to their advantageous roles in animals’ health. However, there is a paucity of research on probiotic and synbiotic supplementation from maternal gestation to the postnatal growing phases of offspring piglets. Thus, we assessed the effects of dietary supplementation of these two additives to sows and offspring piglets on skeletal muscle and body metabolism, colonic microbiota composition, and metabolite profiles of offspring piglets. Pregnant Bama mini-pigs and their offspring piglets (after weaning) were fed either a basal diet or a basal diet supplemented with antibiotics, probiotics, or synbiotics. At 65, 95, and 125 days old, eight pigs per group were euthanized and sampled for analyses. Probiotics increased the intramuscular fat content in the psoas major muscle (PMM) at 95 days old, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and n-3 PUFA levels in the longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) at 65 days old, C16:1 level in the LDM at 125 days old, and upregulated
ATGL
,
CPT-1
, and
HSL
expressions in the PMM at 65 days old. Synbiotics increased the plasma HDL-C level at 65 days old and TC level at 65 and 125 days old and upregulated the
CPT-1
expression in the PMM at 125 days old. In addition, probiotics and synbiotics increased the plasma levels of HDL-C at 65 days old, CHE at 95 days old, and LDL-C at 125 days old, while decreasing the C18:1n9t level in the PMM at 65 days old and the plasma levels of GLU, LDH, and TG at 95 days old. Microbiome analysis showed that probiotic and synbiotic supplementation increased colonic Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia,
Faecalibacterium
,
Pseudobutyrivibrio
, and
Turicibacter
abundances. However, antibiotic supplementation decreased colonic Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes,
Prevotella
, and
Unclassified_Lachnospiraceae
abundances. Furthermore, probiotic and synbiotic supplementation was associated with alterations in 8, 7, and 10 differential metabolites at three different age stages. Both microbiome and metabolome analyses showed that the differential metabolic pathways were associated with carbohydrate, amino acid, and lipid metabolism. However, antibiotic supplementation increased the C18:1n9t level in the PMM at 65 days old and xenobiotic biodegradation and metabolism at 125 days old. In conclusion, sow-offspring’s diets supplemented with these two additives showed conducive effects on meat flavor, nutritional composition of skeletal muscles, and body metabolism, which may be associated with the reshaping of colonic microbiota and metabolites. However, antibiotic supplementation has negative effects on colonic microbiota composition and fatty acid composition in the PMM.

IMPORTANCE

The integral sow-offspring probiotic and synbiotic supplementation improves the meat flavor and the fatty acid composition of the LDM to some extent. Sow-offspring probiotic and synbiotic supplementation increases the colonic beneficial bacteria (including Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria,
Faecalibacterium
,
Turicibacter
, and
Pseudobutyrivibrio
) and alters the colonic metabolite profiles, such as guanidoacetic acid, beta-sitosterol, inosine, cellobiose, indole, and polyamine. Antibiotic supplementation in sow-offspring's diets decreases several beneficial bacteria (including Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria,
Unclassified_Lachnospiraceae
, and
Prevotella
) and has a favorable effect on improving the fatty acid composition of the LDM to some extent, while presenting the opposite effect on the PMM.