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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1448090
This article is part of the Research Topic Adaptation of Animals to High-Altitude Environments: The Role of the Gut Microbiota View all articles

Coevolution of Specific Gut Microbiota of Min pig with Host Cold Adaptation Through Enhanced Vitamin B1 Synthesis

Provisionally accepted
Chunzhu XU Chunzhu XU 1*Yang Chang Yang Chang 1Ziwen Zhang Ziwen Zhang 1Jiancheng Cai Jiancheng Cai 2Chunan Wang Chunan Wang 2Di Liu Di Liu 3Zhonghua Liu Zhonghua Liu 1*
  • 1 College of Life Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
  • 2 Lanxi breeding Farm, Harbin, China
  • 3 Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Min pigs exhibit remarkable cold tolerance, where vitamin B1 synthesis by gut microbiota is crucial for the host's energy metabolism. However, the role of this synthesis in cold adaptation of Min pigsare not yet fully understood. This study utilized 16S rRNA amplicon and metagenomic sequencing to examine seasonal variations in the gut microbiota of Min pigs. Results indicated a significant rise in microbial diversity in winter, with the Bacteroidetes group being the most notably increased. The vitamin B1 biosynthetic pathway was significantly enriched during winter, with six significantly upregulated genes (ThiC, ThiD, ThiE, ThiG, ThiH and ThiL) showing strong evidence of purifying selection. Among the six vitamin B1 synthesis genes significantly upregulated during winter, the increase was mainly due to a marked elevation in several sequences from specific microbial species.Binding energy analysis revealed that, except for ThiL, the average substrate binding energy of the top ten sequences with the largest seasonal differences was significantly lower than those of the ten sequences with the smallest differences. Furthermore, most of these sequences were uniquely prevalent in Min pigs and were not found in the homologous sequences of Duroc pigs. Bacteroidetes and Bacteroidales were identified as the primary contributors to these gene sequences. This research provides valuable insights for developing innovative cold-resistant feed and probiotics.

    Keywords: Gut Microbiota, vitamin B1, Min pig, cold adaptation, Metagenome

    Received: 12 Jun 2024; Accepted: 30 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 XU, Chang, Zhang, Cai, Wang, Liu and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Chunzhu XU, College of Life Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
    Zhonghua Liu, College of Life Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

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