ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Horizons in Gut Microbiome Research for Enhancing Livestock ProductivityView all 22 articles
Age-Related Gut Microbiota Succession in Neijiang Pigs: Insights for Precision Feeding and Productivity
Provisionally accepted
Qihang Wu1*
Shijie Hu1Yan Wang1Yuanyuan Wu2
Ye Zhao1
Lili Niu1
Xiaofeng Zhou1
Linyuan Shen1Yihui Liu3Ying Chen3Mailin Gan1Li Zhu1- 1Farm Animal Germplasm Resources and Biotech Breeding Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
- 2Department of Biological Engineering, Sichuan Fisheries School, Chengdu, China
- 3Sichuan Province General Station of Animal Husbandry, Chengdu, China
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Objective:To characterize age-related gut microbiota succession in Neijiang pigs and translate these dynamics into actionable insights for precision feeding and productivity improvement. Methods:Growth data from 0–180 days (n = 16, 780 weight records) were fitted with three non-linear models to determine the optimal growth curve and partition physiological stages. Fresh feces were collected at 25, 70, 110 and 150 days (n = 6/stage). 16S rRNA V3–V4 amplicon sequencing was used to profile microbiota composition and diversity; PICRUSt2 was employed to predict metagenome functions against the KEGG database. Results:The Gompertz model best described growth (R² = 0.996) with an inflection point at 84.2 days (25.9 kg). Microbial alpha-diversity (Shannon, Chao1) increased with age and plateaued after 110 days. Firmicutes and Bacteroidota dominated (> 90 % relative abundance), whereas Spirochaetota and Euryarchaeota expanded significantly in finishing pigs. LEfSe identified stage-specific biomarkers: Prevotella_9, Collinsella and Blautia characterized suckling–weaning stages; Faecalibacterium and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 peaked at 70 days; Lactobacillus was dominant at 110 days; Treponema, Streptococcus and Bacteroides defined the 150-day microbiome. Functional prediction revealed a metabolic shift from basal biosynthesis and DNA repair in early life toward enhanced ABC transporters, bacterial motility proteins, oxidative phosphorylation and methane metabolism in finishing pigs. Conclusion:Our data provide a temporal blueprint of gut microbiota maturation that mirrors host nutrient requirements across growth phases. These microbial indicators and functional signatures can guide stage-specific dietary formulations and microbiota-targeted interventions to improve feed efficiency, reduce environmental emissions and enhance the productivity of indigenous pig breeds.
Keywords: Neijiang pig, 16S rRNA gene, metagenomic sequencing, Gut Microbiota, function capacity
Received: 03 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Hu, Wang, Wu, Zhao, Niu, Zhou, Shen, Liu, Chen, Gan and Zhu. 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: Qihang Wu, wuqihang@stu.sicau.edu.cn
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