Multi-omics analysis to examine microbiota and metabolites in the colon of different breeds of swine

Background: Host health and disease status are significantly influenced by the gut microbiome. However, the understandings of the gut microbiota in different breeds of pigs are largely unknown. Results In this study, six Duroc × landrace × yorkshire pigs and six Tibetan pigs were slaughtered to determine their short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and microbes in colon and metabolites both in colon and plasma. The results revealed many variations between these two breeds of pigs. This study attempted to identify the major variables that explain the disparities in production performance between these two breeds of pigs. In our result, due to the significantly different relative abundances of microbes such as Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group , Alloprevotella and Prevotellaceae_UCG-003 ( P  < 0.05), significantly higher concentrations of acetic acid, propionic acid and total SCFAs ( P  < 0.05), and significantly different concentrations of metabolites, duroc × landrace × yorkshire pigs showed better growth performance and health. Meanwhile, Tibetan pigs showed better abilities to use bile acid because of the higher relative abundances of UCG-002 and UCG-005 , higher concentration of lithocholic acid and taurine, and higher expressions of bile acid receptors gene. Conclusion Based on the differences, the future studies could benefit these two breeds pigs’ production performance.