Abstract
Recent studies have dramatically improved our understanding of the swine gut microbiome regarding its composition and correlations with animal phenotypes. However, many basic biological and ecological questions still remain to be answered. In addition, it is even challenging to translate basic gut microbiome research into industrial applications. During my presentation, I will first address several important ecological questions in two animal trials: a longitudinal study and a fecal microbiota transplantation experiment. Through big data analysis, we identified a probiotic candidate that correlates well with growth performance. We then re-analyzed two published data sets from other animal trials (isolated rearing and ZnO treatment). All four animal trials show a positive correlation between an F2 strain with growth performance. We isolated 200 F2 strains using a culturomics approach developed in my lab to establish a causal relationship between F2 and the host. After in vitro characterization of these isolates and whole genome sequencing, we conducted three animal trials to validate their probiotic effects and explore their underlying mechanisms. At the end of my presentation, I will discuss the future directions of animal gut microbiome.