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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413661
Research Project: Intestinal Microbial Ecology and Non-Antibiotic Strategies to Limit Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Antimicrobial Resistance Transmission in Food Animals

Location: Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research

Title: Genetic and functional diversity of Prevotella isolated from the swine intestinal tract

Author
item WATKINS, HANNAH - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Loving, Crystal
item Anderson, Christopher

Submitted to: American Society for Microbiology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/28/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Prevotella is a large, diverse genus often reported as the most abundant genus in the post-weaning pig gut microbial community. Prevotella are keystone species in the swine gut and have been explored as next-generation probiotics for the swine industry due to the associations between Prevotella abundance and production outcomes as well as decreased Salmonella shedding. Factors related to diet and microbial interactions are likely important in determining the extent of Prevotella’s contribution to Salmonella colonization resistance. Further, the relative effects of individual Prevotella species in conveying resistance to enteric pathogens may depend on strain-level genetic variation and the context of the microbiome. Here, we investigated the genetic and functional diversity of 153 Prevotella isolates cultured from the feces of ~42-day-old pigs fed a resistant potato starch prebiotic to examine carbon metabolism, substrate utilization, prevalence, and ecological roles of Prevotella in the pig gut. Comparative genomic analyses highlighted intra- and inter-species variation in genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), polysaccharide utilization loci, and their predicted substrates. Specifically, glycoside hydrolases were the most variable CAZyme families across all species. Within the 13 species represented in our culture collection, we identified a wide range of predicted substrates, the most common being pectin, arabinan, arabinoxylan, while fucose, alpha-mannan, and cellobiose were the most variable. The absolute abundance of Prevotella was not significantly different in animals fed a resistant potato starch; however, metagenomic sequencing demonstrated a significant shift in the relative abundance of Prevotella species over the 28-day feeding of the prebiotic. The characterized heterogeneity of pig-specific Prevotella will assist in designing controlled experiments utilizing specific strains to better understand Prevotella's roles as a keystone member of the swine gut ecosystem and its causal role in promoting colonization resistance to Salmonella.