High-fiber diet alters fecal microbiota and enhances fiber utilization and short-chain fatty acid production in tibetan pigs
- 1Xizang Plateau Feed Processing Engineering Research Center, Xizang Plateau Ecological Grassland Husbandry Collaborative Innovation Center, College of Animal Science, Xizang Agricultural and Animal Husbandry University
- 2College of Engineering, China Agricultural University
- 3National International Joint Research Center for Animal Gut Nutrition, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health, Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University
Abstract
Background This study investigated the responses of growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, serum biochemical indices, fecal enzyme activity, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and fecal microbiota to a high-fiber diet in Tibetan pigs by manipulating dietary neutral detergent fiber (NDF) levels. Forty healthy Tibetan pigs with an initial body weight (IBW) of (13.46 ± 1.34) kg were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group (CON, NDF 8.80%) and a high-fiber group (HF, NDF 14.94%), with 20 replicates each and one pig per replicate. The experiment consisted of a 7-d adaptation period followed by a 28-d feeding trial. Results Different dietary NDF levels had no significant effects on growth performance between the CON and HF groups. The digested amount of crude fiber (CF) was significantly increased in the HF group (P < 0.05). The HF group showed a significantly reduced apparent digestibility of acid detergent fiber (P < 0.05), while no significant differences were observed in the digestibility of other nutrients. Fecal cellulase activity was significantly higher in the HF group than in the CON group (P < 0.05). In addition, the concentrations of acetate, propionate, and butyrate in feces were significantly increased in the HF group (P < 0.05). The relative abundances of Coprococcus and p-75-a5 were also significantly elevated (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis revealed that Coprococcus abundance was positively correlated with isobutyrate levels, and p-75-a5 was positively correlated with cellulase activity (P < 0.05). Conclusion A high-fiber diet did not compromise growth performance in post-weaning Tibetan piglets and was associated with higher fecal cellulase activity, increased fecal acetate, propionate, and butyrate concentrations, and changes in selected bacterial taxa. These findings may provide useful reference information for the application of high-fiber diets in Tibetan pig production.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026highfiber,
title = {{High-fiber diet alters fecal microbiota and enhances fiber utilization and short-chain fatty acid production in tibetan pigs}},
author = {Jiang Wang and Sichen Yang and Ying Yang and Chenguang Hu and Yucheng Wu and Feifan Zhang and Zhenda Shang and Peng Shang and Suozhu Liu and Kaifan Yu and Mengjie Zhang and Yan Lin and Zhonghua Cao and Zhankun Tan},
journal = {BMC Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12866-026-05434-5},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-026-05434-5},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - High-fiber diet alters fecal microbiota and enhances fiber utilization and short-chain fatty acid production in tibetan pigs
AU - Jiang Wang
AU - Sichen Yang
AU - Ying Yang
AU - Chenguang Hu
AU - Yucheng Wu
AU - Feifan Zhang
AU - Zhenda Shang
AU - Peng Shang
AU - Suozhu Liu
AU - Kaifan Yu
AU - Mengjie Zhang
AU - Yan Lin
AU - Zhonghua Cao
AU - Zhankun Tan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC Microbiology
DO - 10.1186/s12866-026-05434-5
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-026-05434-5
AB - Background This study investigated the responses of growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, serum biochemical indices, fecal enzyme activity, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and fecal microbiota to a high-fiber diet in Tibetan pigs by manipulating dietary neutral detergent fiber (NDF) levels. Forty healthy Tibetan pigs with an initial body weight (IBW) of (13.46 ± 1.34) kg were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group (CON, NDF 8.80%) and a high-fiber group (HF, NDF 14.94%), with 20 replicates each and one pig per replicate. The experiment consisted of a 7-d adaptation period followed by a 28-d feeding trial. Results Different dietary NDF levels had no significant effects on growth performance between the CON and HF groups. The digested amount of crude fiber (CF) was significantly increased in the HF group (P < 0.05). The HF group showed a significantly reduced apparent digestibility of acid detergent fiber (P < 0.05), while no significant differences were observed in the digestibility of other nutrients. Fecal cellulase activity was significantly higher in the HF group than in the CON group (P < 0.05). In addition, the concentrations of acetate, propionate, and butyrate in feces were significantly increased in the HF group (P < 0.05). The relative abundances of Coprococcus and p-75-a5 were also significantly elevated (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis revealed that Coprococcus abundance was positively correlated with isobutyrate levels, and p-75-a5 was positively correlated with cellulase activity (P < 0.05). Conclusion A high-fiber diet did not compromise growth performance in post-weaning Tibetan piglets and was associated with higher fecal cellulase activity, increased fecal acetate, propionate, and butyrate concentrations, and changes in selected bacterial taxa. These findings may provide useful reference information for the application of high-fiber diets in Tibetan pig production.
SN - 1471-2180
ER -