Production Phase Affects the Bioaerosol MicrobialComposition and Functional Potential in SwineConfinement Buildings

Bioaerosols from swine confinement buildings (SCBs) pose a challenge to public health,and microorganisms within the SCBs bioaerosols originate from swine feces, of which the microbialcomposition is associated with the production phase. The present study adopted the wholemetagenome shotgun sequencing approach, to assess the effects of the production phase on thecomposition and functional potential of microbial populations in SCBs bioaerosols. Most annotatedproteins were assigned into domain bacteria, within which the predominant phylum was Firmicutes.The taxonomical profiles of bioaerosols from different types of piggeries showed that buildingshousing weaning piglets (WP) exhibited higher abundances of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria thanbuildings housing finishing pigs (FP), gestating sows (GS), farrowing sows (FS), and breeding boars(BB). Regarding the functional potential, the WP bioaerosol had more genes involved in the proteinturnover and fewer genes involved in the carbohydrate metabolism than bioaerosols from othertypes of SCBs. Furthermore, production phase influenced the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)profile of the SCBs bioaerosols. Bioaerosol microbiome of BB, shared a high similarity with GS, andWP bioaerosol microbiome was more similar to FP than other types of SCBs. Our study suggeststhat the production phase plays a key role in the SCBs bioaerosol microbiome.