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SupplementingBacillus(B.)subtilismutants selected to overproduce a specific amino acid (AA) may be an alternative method to provide essential AA in pig diets. Two experiments on aB. subtilisstrain selected to overproduce Trp were conducted using 8-kg pigs fed Trp-deficient diets for 20 d.B. subtiliswere supplied in a low or high dose in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. The Trp-deficient diet (0.15 SID Trp:Lys) reduced (p < .05) both gain and feed intake of piglets compared to the positive control diet (0.17 SID Trp:Lys). Supplementation of theB. subtilisstrain was not able to counterbalance the Trp deficiency in any of the two experiments. No effect ofB. subtilissupplementation to piglet diets was observed on the plasma AA profile. In conclusion, this mutant strain ofB. subtiliswas not able to compensate a Trp deficiency in the tested doses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Research proposes the benefit of introducing positive interventions early in life. • A good correlation between quantitative PCR and enumeration is identified. • Early probiotic inoculation reduces shedding E. coli F18 and STb toxin in faeces. • Probiotic intervention early in life causes a faster clearance of E. coli F18. • Probiotics to newborn piglets may promote resilience in newly weaned pigs. Postweaning diarrhoea caused by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a threat to the pig industry. With an intensified focus on finding alternatives to the use of medical zinc oxide and antibiotics in newly weaned pigs, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of early inoculation of probiotics to suckling piglets on subsequently ETEC faecal shedding and immune parameters in ETEC F18-challenged weaned piglets. Sixty pigs weaned on day 28 of age were assigned to three treatment groups: (i) Negative Control (non-challenged), (ii) Positive Control (challenged) and (iii) Probiotic (challenged and inoculated with a multi-species probiotic product during suckling). On days 1 and 2 postweaning, pigs in the Positive Control and Probiotic groups were challenged with 5 × 108 colony-forming unit ETEC F18/pig/day, whereas pigs in the Negative Control group were provided with NaCl. Growth and diarrhoea incidence were not significantly affected by ETEC challenge or probiotic administration. ETEC F18 shedding and C-reactive protein concentration in plasma were significantly lower in the Negative Control group, confirming a successful challenge model. Pigs in the Probiotic group had a significantly reduced number of pigs shedding ETEC F18 and STb toxin in faeces compared with the Positive Control group. Probiotic application did not significantly impact the concentration of C-reactive protein, haptoglobin and cytokines in plasma nor haematology numbers. In conclusion, weaned pigs administered with a multi-species probiotic product early in life had a more rapid response towards the pathogen challenge and a faster clearance of ETEC compared with the Positive Control group. Administration of a multi-species probiotic to newborn piglets may thus promote resilience in the newly weaned pig. However, further studies with pigs subjected to a more severe pathogen challenge are needed to confirm these results and to investigate the mechanism of action of the probiotic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Supplementation of crystalline amino acids is common in diets for piglets. The purpose of the present experiment was to conduct a study on an alternative amino acid provision by means of feeding piglets spores of a B. subtilis strain known to overproduce Val when cultured in vitro. Seventeen individually penned piglets per treatment were used. One week after weaning, piglets were fed one of 3 diets: a Val deficient (Val:Lys, 0.63:1; Neg), the same diet with added 1.28×106 cfu B. subtilis/g feed (+Bac), or a diet containing Val at requirement levels for piglets (Val:Lys, 0.69:1; +Val). During the 26-d feeding period, Val deficiency reduced (P<0.001) feed intake and growth rate of piglets, and supplementation of B. subtilis spores was not effective enough to compensate for the Val deficiency. Although there were some effects on mucosa, the dietary treatments did not have major effects on amino acid concentrations in digesta and mucosa of the small intestine. However, the Val concentration in plasma of the portal and jugular veins and the urea concentration in plasma of the jugular vein were higher when piglets were fed the +Val diet. The Val:Lys of 0.63:1 was clearly below the requirement of Val for piglets. The dietary supplementation of the B. subtilis strain that can overproduce Val, did not provide Val in levels high enough to compensate for a Val deficiency. Further investigations should focus on optimizing strains to greater Val overproduction in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs and establishing the optimal dose of B. subtilis supplementation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aims: To investigate the production of volatile sulphur compounds (VSC) in the segments of the large intestine of pigs and to assess the impact of diet on this production. Methods and Results: Pigs were fed two diets based on either wheat and barley (STD) or wheat and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). Net production of VSC and potential sulphate reduction rate (SRR) (sulphate saturated) along the large intestine were determined by means of in vitro incubations. The net production rate of hydrogen sulphide and potential SRR increased from caecum towards distal colon and were significantly higher in the STD group. Conversely, the net methanethiol production rate was significantly higher in the DDGS group, while no difference was observed for dimethyl sulphide. The number of sulphate-reducing bacteria and total bacteria were determined by quantitative PCR and showed a significant increase along the large intestine, whereas no diet-related differences were observed. Conclusion: VSC net production varies widely throughout the large intestine of pigs and the microbial processes involved in this production can be affected by diet. Significance and Impact of the Study: This first report on intestinal production of all VSC shows both spatial and dietary effects, which are relevant to both bowel disease- and odour mitigation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available energy from hindgut fermentation to pigs fed various amounts of dietary fiber was investigated using an in vivo-in vitro methodology. Six growing pigs fitted with a simple T-shaped cannula at the terminal ileum, and following a Latin-square design, were fed 3 diets differing in the content of nonstarch polysaccharides (NSP): a low fiber diet (LFD, 77 g/kg of DM), a standard fiber diet (SFD, 160 g/kg of DM), and a high fiber diet (HFD, 240 g/kg of DM). After adaptation to the diet for 10 d, samples from feces and ileum were collected and analyzed for DM, energy, NSP, and chromic oxide; feces were also analyzed for short chain fatty acids (SCFA). Freeze-dried ileal samples (10 g/L) were fermented in vitro in a fecal slurry consisting of an anaerobic mineral salt medium and feces (50 g/L) from cannulated pigs fed the same diets. Available energy was calculated from the amount of SCFA produced in vitro after 48 h of incubation. Nonstarch polysaccharide content in the fermented material was measured to assess the in vitro degradation of this fraction. Increasing dietary NSP from 77 to 240 g/kg of feed DM increased (P < 0.001) ileal flow from 199 to 468 g/kg of feed, leading to a reduction in the energy digested at the terminal ileum, from 15 to 11 MJ/kg of feed DM and an increment in energy digested in the hindgut, from 1.6 to 3.5 MJ/kg of feed DM. Total in vitro production of SCFA/kg of feed DM was dependent on the amount of ileal substrate available for fermentation; that is, increased concentrations of NSP in the diet led to an increase in the SCFA that may be available to the animal (P < 0.001). The molar ratio of SCFA produced in vitro was affected by diet; the high fiber diet showed the greatest (P = 0.004) proportion of acetic acid, and the low fiber diet showed a tendency (P = 0.081) to an increased butyric acid proportion compared with the other 2 diets. Net disappearance of NSP during fermentation in vivo and in vitro were compared and showed a close relationship (P < 0.001, slope = 0.906, r = 0.960). In our experimental conditions, available energy as SCFA to the animal from hindgut fermentation increased with the concentration of dietary NSP (P < 0.001) and provided between 7.1 and 17.6% of the total available energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]