Abstract

Manipulative behaviour that consists of touching or close contact with ears or tails of pen mates is common in pigs and can become damaging. Manipulative behaviour was analysed from video recordings of 45-day-old pigs, and 15 manipulator-control pairs (n = 30) were formed. Controls neither received nor performed manipulative behaviour. Rectal faecal samples of manipulators and controls were compared. 16S PCR was used to identify Lactobacillaceae species and 16S amplicon sequencing to determine faecal microbiota composition. Seven culturable Lactobacillaceae species were identified in control pigs and four in manipulator pigs. Manipulators (p = 0.02) and females (p = 0.005) expressed higher Lactobacillus amylovorus, and a significant interaction was seen (sex * status: p = 0.005) with this sex difference being more marked in controls. Females (p = 0.08) and manipulator pigs (p = 0.07) tended to express higher total Lactobacillaceae. A tendency for an interaction was seen in Limosilactobacillus reuteri (sex * status: p = 0.09). Results suggest a link between observed low diversity in Lactobacillaceae and the development of manipulative behaviour.

Details

Title
Fewer culturable Lactobacillaceae species identified in faecal samples of pigs performing manipulative behaviour
Author
König, Emilia 1 ; Heponiemi, Paulina 2 ; Kivinen, Sanni 2 ; Räkköläinen, Jaakko 2 ; Beasley, Shea 3 ; Borman, Tuomas 4 ; Collado, Maria Carmen 5 ; Hukkinen, Vilja 1 ; Junnila, Jouni 6 ; Lahti, Leo 4 ; Norring, Marianna 1 ; Piirainen, Virpi 1 ; Salminen, Seppo 2 ; Heinonen, Mari 1 ; Valros, Anna 1 

 University of Helsinki, Research Centre for Animal Welfare, Department of Production Animal Medicine, Helsinki, Finland (GRID:grid.7737.4) (ISNI:0000 0004 0410 2071) 
 University of Turku, Functional Foods Forum, Turku, Finland (GRID:grid.1374.1) (ISNI:0000 0001 2097 1371) 
 Vetcare Ltd., Mäntsälä, Finland (GRID:grid.460558.a) (ISNI:0000 0004 4677 6306); Sheaps Oy, Ojakkala, Finland (GRID:grid.460558.a) 
 University of Turku, Department of Computing, Turku, Finland (GRID:grid.1374.1) (ISNI:0000 0001 2097 1371) 
 Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology-National Research Council (IATA-CSIC), Paterna, Spain (GRID:grid.419051.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 1945 7738) 
 EstiMates Ltd., Turku, Finland (GRID:grid.7737.4) 
Pages
132
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2908997688
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.