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SFB 852:  Nutrition and Intestinal Microbiota - Host Interaction in the Pig

Subject Area Medicine
Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine
Term from 2010 to 2014
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 92137290
 
Final Report Year 2015

Final Report Abstract

The SFB 852 “Nutrition and intestinal microbiota - host interaction in the pig” was hosted at the Freie Universität Berlin. The objective was to study the interaction of nutritional factors, the intestinal microbiota and the host organism as driving forces of the balance between health, pathophysiologic reactions and disease in pigs as target species. A fully integrative approach with centralised nutritional studies has proved to be successful in unravelling diet-microbiota-host interactions and was backed up by targeted projects addressing specific research topics. The targeted projects were addressing effects of dietary factors on specific interactions with microorganisms, cell culture based work and mouse models for specific questions. Structurally, four project areas covered nutrition-microbiota interactions (A), including innovative models to study functional aspects of the gut microbiome and metabolome. The host reaction was targeted in project area B, including mechanisms how nutritional factors and the microbiota affected digestive processes, gut physiology, the gut associated and general immune system and finally animal health. Project area C included three central projects with organizational, experimental, analytical, and bioinformatic tasks. By integrating the central experimental data we could show new patterns and networks of interactions by using innovative approaches to decode the complex microbiota-host system. This was considered as key element in the proposal and important step going towards systems biology. Training and promotion of young scientists has been successfully achieved by the Integrated Research Training Group in project area D. The Integrated Research Training Group included 26 PhD students and was the fundamental activity for the personal and scientific development of young researchers in a multidisciplinary scientific environment. Further on, the SFB had established a broad spectrum of gender equality measures. The methodological development has allowed substantial progress including a broad spectrum of meta-genomic, -proteomic and -bolomic approaches with central data processing and bioinformatics. The central nutritional experiments focused on the effects of probiotic Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 10415 and the trace element zinc in sows and piglets at the microbial and host domain. The work included physiological and pathophysiologic conditions by using challenge models with bacteria and viruses. We could demonstrate that both nutritional factors had a clear interaction with the intestinal microbiome, gut physiology and the immune system. Key findings on the probiotic E. faecium NCIMB 10415 indicated its role as immune-modulator in pigs, down-regulating inflammatory and immunological responses of the gut and the immune system in general. The probiotic treatment affected the microbial community and the virome composition, indicated by a lower prevalence of rotaviruses and astroviruses. The data suggest an immune modulating effect of E. faecium. No protection could be demonstrated in a challenge mode using Salmonella Typhimurium, in contrast to the probiotic Bacillus cereus var. toyoi. This seemed to be related to an up-regulation of the immune reaction by this probiotic. The key finding in the experiments using the trace element zinc was an impact on the diversity of the intestinal microbiota especially in very young piglets. Zinc affected the composition and metabolism of the intestinal microbiome and the reactivity of the intestinal tissue, but it also had an up now unknown effect on multiresistant bacteria in the intestinal tract. In specific projects, we investigated a genetically modified probiotic producing cystatin, an anti-inflammatory molecule, in mice and the interaction of protein and fiber intake in pigs. The probiotic proved to ameliorate murine experimental colitis and improved intestinal barrier functions in the porcine colon while suppressing post-weaning inflammatory gut reactions. Dietary fiber and protein were tested in a related trial and induced changes in the intestinal microbiota, and had functional consequences in the intestine of pigs. The structure of SFB 852 induced an intensive and transdisciplinary interaction between the different research groups. This is displayed by an effective publication output in the first funding period. The results obtained during the years of the collaborative research centre are considered influential on the scientific understanding of nutritional biology in pigs and allowed to build up new hypotheses on nutrition-host interactions. The link between nutrition and infection medicine is important for the pig as animal species but also as model for nutritional biology. The results generated will further stimulate collaborative research at the Freie Universität Berlin and the partner institutions.

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