Location: Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research
Title: Targeted culturing and characterization of Prevotella from the swine gastrointestinal tractAuthor
WATKINS, HANNAH - Iowa State University | |
Loving, Crystal | |
Anderson, Christopher |
Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 10/28/2023 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Policies regulating the use of certain antimicrobials in swine production has led to a resurgence of interest in direct-fed microbials to improve growth performance, immune development, and disease resilience. Many candidates for the next generation of probiotics remain difficult to culture for extensive characterization, including members of the genus Prevotella. The abundance of Prevotella in the swine gastrointestinal tract has been associated with positive health outcomes and desirable production phenotypes, including improved feed efficiency, higher production of secretory IgA, decreased prevalence of post-weaning diarrhea, and decreased Salmonella shedding. However, the putative links between Prevotella abundance and animal outcomes are often inconsistent and are largely based on correlations with gut microbiome data. As a result, controlled experiments with pig-specific Prevotella isolates are needed to demonstrate causal roles between Prevotella and animal phenotypes of interest. Here, we describe the isolation and genomic characterization of 153 Prevotella strains cultured from the feces of ~42-day-old pigs. Together, these isolates represent 12 species of Prevotella, several of which are novel species. Comparative genomic analyses demonstrate high intra-species diversity in genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes and comprising polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs). Further, we detail the longitudinal dynamics of these Prevotella populations during the post-weaning administration of a prebiotic resistant starch. We expect the characterization of swine-specific isolates and ongoing genomic analyses will facilitate an improved understanding of Prevotella’s interactions with other commensals in the pig intestinal microbial community and potential capacity to limit colonization of pathogenic bacteria with relevance to food safety. |