Early Microbiome Development for Gut Health: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Drivers

Abstract The gut microbiome, the collection of bacteria, fungi, virus and protozoa that inhabit the pig gastrointestinal tract, is promptly acquired at birth. During this seeding process, maternal and environmental microbial sources have a fundamental role, further modulated by nutritional and management interventions applied to both sow and piglet. Simultaneously, early microbiome seeding has significant impacts on the physiological landscape of the piglet gastrointestinal tract. In this talk, we will address the importance of diverse intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including nutrition, environment and sow physiology, in shaping early microbiome colonization and specific gut health traits in young pigs. Specifically, we propose that early microbiome development, including strategies for its manipulation, could potentially impact piglet survivability, immune function, pathogen susceptibility, digestion, absorption and overall well-being. We propose that, although some of these microbiome-mediated effects may be transient, others can be long lasting, possibly affecting health and productive performance along the life course. We propose that a microbiome lens could potentially contribute to better understanding health and performance in young pigs, by bridging basic and applied nutrition research.