Can the effects of live yeast on a sow’s microbiota benefit the piglet?

New metagenomics results presented at IPC 2019 confirm the concept of maternal imprinting.

At this week’s International Scientific Conference on Probiotics, Prebiotics, Gut Microbiota and Health (IPC 2019) in Prague, Lallemand Animal Nutrition shared new metagenomics data on swine gut microbiota. A presentation¹ was delivered by Caroline Achard, Ph.D., as part of the Animal Health Symposium during the conference. Using the latest high-throughput sequencing techniques in partnership with the INRA Genotoul platform, this study revealed the effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii CNCM-I 1079 supplementation on sows’ microbiota and the lasting influence this has on weanling piglet performance.

Dr. Achard explains:

“In the context of swine production and of a more careful use of antimicrobials, it is critical to get a better understanding of the link between the digestive microbiota and animal health and performance. In this study, we showed evidence of the beneficial effects of a well described probiotic yeast on the sow’s microbiota, in particular to limit the intestinal microbiota dysbiosis during the peri-partum phase. Those microbiota modulation results also confirmed the concept of maternal imprinting and helped explain why feeding the probiotic to the sow has also a positive impact on piglets’ performance.”

High-troughput sequencing platform at INRA in Toulouse, France, used in the study

About the conference:

IPC 2019 conference is the biggest scientific conference worldwide that focuses on human and animal probiotics, prebiotics, gut microbiota and health. The scientific programme of this year’s event focused on current advances in the research, production and use of probiotics and prebiotics with a particular focus on their role in maintaining health and preventing diseases. More information on the conference can be found on: https://www.probiotic-conference.net/