ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1524727
Microbiome analysis reveals the gut bacterial alterations in adult Tibetan pigs with diarrhea
Provisionally accepted
- 1Key Lab of Meat Processing of Sichuan Province, Chengdu University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 2Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province Animal Breeding and Genetics Institute, Sichuan Animal Science Academy, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 3School of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest University, Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality, China
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Diarrhea is an important ailment causing heavy economic losses in pig industry. Tibetan pig belongs to a native Chinese breed that is unique in the high-altitude regions and displays a strong disease resistance. However, the scientific research regarding the structural characteristics of the gut microbiota and key genera associated with diarrhea in Tibetan pigs is still scarce, especially those involving in the adult Tibetan pigs. In this study, fresh fecal samples from Diarrheic (case, N=9) and Healthy adult Tibetan pigs (control, N=10) were collected and sequenced by 16S rRNA gene. Our results revealed that the gut microbial community of case pigs exhibited lower alpha diversities but higher intragroup variability in microbiota composition. The genera Treponema and Prevotellaceae_UCG-001 were underrepresented in pigs as a hallmark of diarrhea, as did an increased proportion of Lactobacillus, Escherichia-Shigella, and Muribaculaceae. Moreover, genera Lactobacillus and Ignatzschineria were significantly enriched biomarkers in case pigs. It is noteworthy that these changes were not consistent with Tibetan piglets and other commercial pigs. Notably, the decreased abundance of Treponema in diarrhea pig indicated this disease was associated with high-fiber diet and environmental adaptability. The differentially enriched pathways of case and control pigs were further revealed that the gut dysbiosis exacerbated the immune and inflammatory responses to promote the development of diarrhea. In conclusion, this work characterized the distribution of gut microbiota community composition in adult Tibetan pigs with different health status, which will likely aid in enhancing our understanding the role of gut microbiota in intestinal issues.
Keywords: Tibetan pigs, Diarrhea, Gut Microbiota, 16S rRNA, biomarker
Received: 15 Nov 2024; Accepted: 04 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Li, Wang, Zhang, Ji and Gan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yan Wang, Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province Animal Breeding and Genetics Institute, Sichuan Animal Science Academy, Chengdu, 610066, Sichuan Province, China
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