Open AccessEffect of fermentable carbohydrates on piglet faecal bacterial communities as revealed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of 16S ribosomal DNA
Author(s) -
Konstantinov Sergey R.,
Zhu WeiYun,
Williams Barbara A.,
Tamminga Seerp,
Vos Willem M.,
Akkermans Antoon D.L.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2003.tb01062.x
Subject(s) - biology , temperature gradient gel electrophoresis , ruminococcus , 16s ribosomal rna , sugar beet , ribosomal dna , food science , microbiology and biotechnology , clostridium , bacteria , feces , biochemistry , gene , genetics , phylogenetics , horticulture
The effect of fermentable carbohydrates (sugar beet pulp and fructooligosaccharides) on the faecal bacterial communities of weaning piglets was analysed using 16S rDNA‐based approaches. Amplicons of the V6–V8 variable regions of bacterial 16S rDNA were analysed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), cloning and sequencing. Differences in piglet faecal bacterial community structure were determined based on the Dice coefficients for pairwise comparison of the DGGE fingerprints and revealed significant changes in the faecal microbiota immediately after weaning. Piglets fed with fermentable carbohydrates showed a higher bacterial diversity and a more rapid stabilisation of the bacterial community compared with that of the animals fed with the control diet. Thirteen dominant DGGE bands were matched with sequences that showed 91–97% similarity to those derived from the Clostridium coccoides group and the Clostridium leptum subgroup. Amplicons related to Ruminococcus ‐like species were found in all DGGE fingerprints derived from pigs on the diet containing sugar beet pulp and fructooligosaccharides, but not in pigs on the control diet. These results indicate that these bacteria may play a role in the utilisation of dietary fibres.