EFFECT OF LOW DIETARY PROTEIN SOURCES ON THE INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA OF FINISHING PIGS

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of low dietary protein sources on the gut microbiota in finishing pigs. Thirty-six Duroc x Landrace x Large White finishing barrows were randomly allocated to four equal groups. Soybean meal (SBM) as a protein source is a control group and had a general protein level of 15% (SBM15). The pigs fed soybean meal (SBM11), soybean-cottonseed corn germ meal (SCCM11), and cottonseed-corn germ meal (CCM11) were offered low protein (11%) diets. The results showed that the ileum and feces microbiota of the SCCM11 group were significantly increased compared to the SBM15 group (P<0.05). At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria phyla was significantly increased in the ileum microbiota of the SCCM11 group compared to the SBM15 group (P<0.05). At the genus level, the abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium showed a significant increase in the ileum microbiota of the SCCM11 group (P<0.05). The abundance of Ruminococcaceae, Phascolarctobacterium was significantly increased in the feces microbiota of the SCCM11 group than the other three groups (P<0.05). These results indicated that the SCCM11 group with added crystalline amino acid may modulate intestinal microbiota.