Molecular ecological analysis of the pig's intestinal microbiota in response to fermentable carbohydrates and calcium-phosphate in the diet

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Fermentable carbohydrates, such as non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), are considered to influence the composition, development, and activity of the indigenous microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of pigs. Moreover, stimulation of lactobacilli was evidenced in rats by increasing the dietary calcium-phosphate (CaP) level in combination with oligosaccharides, while data are still missing for pigs. Bacterial activity, in turn, may change the degree of mineral absorption from the gut. Fermentation end products are known to stimulate trophic effects on the intestinal epithelium, mainly through butyrate production in the proximal and distal parts of the GIT of pigs. Growing barrows, fitted with intestinal cannulas at the distal ileum, will be used to determine (i) the effect of high viscous versus low viscous NSP and fermentable versus low fermentable NSP, and (ii) the effect of varying dietary CaP levels in combination with NSP on the molecular diversity, development and metabolic activity of the ileal and colonic bacterial community, with special view on lactic acid bacteria and butyrate formation, as well as on the intestinal absorption of dietary calcium and phosphorus. Deliverables include the development of nutritional strategies for improvement of gut health and optimization of mineral supply as influenced both by the supply of fermentable carbohydrates and CaP in diets for growing pigs.