TABLE 2.
Effects of fecal microbiota transplantation in sows and/or dietary supplementation of inulin in offspring for 42 days postweaning on pH and volatile fatty acid concentrations in the intestinal digestaa
| Parameter | Sow effect |
Offspring effect |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean value for group |
SEM | P value | Mean value for group |
SEM | P value | |||
| Control | FMTp | Control | Inulin | |||||
| pH | ||||||||
| Ileum | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.10 | 0.75 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.10 | 0.76 |
| Cecum | 5.8 | 5.8 | 0.10 | 0.67 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 0.10 | 0.32 |
| Colon | 5.9 | 5.9 | 0.10 | 0.88 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 0.10 | 0.40 |
| VFA concn (μmol/g digesta) | ||||||||
| Total | ||||||||
| Ileum | 26.1 | 28.0 | 2.05 | 0.52 | 27.5 | 26.6 | 2.08 | 0.76 |
| Cecum | 130.2 | 128.2 | 9.85 | 0.89 | 132.4 | 126.1 | 9.92 | 0.66 |
| Colon | 99.5 | 94.8 | 7.45 | 0.66 | 102.1 | 92.4 | 7.46 | 0.36 |
| Acetic acid | ||||||||
| Ileum | 12.8 | 13.1 | 1.14 | 0.85 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 1.15 | 0.52 |
| Cecum | 44.8 | 46.8 | 4.03 | 0.73 | 48.0 | 43.7 | 4.06 | 0.46 |
| Colon | 41.7 | 37.4 | 3.47 | 0.39 | 41.0 | 38.1 | 3.45 | 0.55 |
| Propionic acid | ||||||||
| Ileum | 3.15 | 3.97 | 0.563 | 0.28 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 0.58 | 0.01 |
| Cecum | 42.27 | 43.51 | 6.282 | 0.89 | 44.7 | 41.2 | 6.29 | 0.69 |
| Colon | 37.83 | 33.99 | 5.258 | 0.61 | 37.3 | 34.5 | 5.26 | 0.71 |
| Butyric acid | ||||||||
| Ileum | 4.06 | 4.29 | 0.836 | 0.85 | 3.86 | 4.52 | 0.838 | 0.57 |
| Cecum | 9.64 | 3.24 | 1.327 | <0.001 | 8.10 | 3.86 | 1.229 | 0.01 |
| Colon | 6.54 | 4.35 | 1.089 | 0.15 | 5.41 | 5.26 | 1.065 | 0.92 |
| Valeric acid | ||||||||
| Ileum | 1.78 | 1.61 | 0.168 | 0.48 | 1.74 | 1.65 | 0.170 | 0.69 |
| Cecum | 7.38 | 5.56 | 0.641 | 0.04 | 6.35 | 6.46 | 0.634 | 0.89 |
| Colon | 7.74 | 6.77 | 0.718 | 0.34 | 7.06 | 7.41 | 0.717 | 0.73 |
| Isobutyric acid | ||||||||
| Ileum | 2.18 | 2.64 | 0.509 | 0.52 | 2.67 | 2.16 | 0.511 | 0.47 |
| Cecum | 22.60 | 23.40 | 4.821 | 0.91 | 20.39 | 25.92 | 4.827 | 0.42 |
| Colon | 4.16 | 9.40 | 1.489 | 0.01 | 7.74 | 5.05 | 1.339 | 0.15 |
| Isovaleric acid | ||||||||
| Ileum | 1.32 | 1.67 | 0.176 | 0.19 | 1.47 | 1.51 | 0.175 | 0.86 |
| Cecum | 2.66 | 2.76 | 0.345 | 0.83 | 3.58 | 2.06 | 0.368 | 0.003 |
| Colon | 1.48 | 1.69 | 0.186 | 0.45 | 1.50 | 1.67 | 0.190 | 0.51 |
a
Data are from 32 pigs (at the sow treatment level, n = 16 for the CON group and n = 16 for the FMTp group; at the offspring treatment level, n = 16 for the CON group and n = 16 for the INU group). Standard errors of the means are depicted. The intestinal segments shown in boldface type represent those at which the indicated VFA was also impacted due to a sow × offspring interaction (details are given in Table S1 in the supplemental material).