In vitro characterization of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria from wild and domestic pigs: probiotic potential for post-weaning piglets

Gastrointestinal diseases in weaned piglets are a frequent cause of high morbidity and mortality in domestic pigs. The use of antibiotics is problematic due to increasing antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations, for which reason the use of suitable probiotics is highly recommended to maintain animal health and welfare.

In this study, 57 strains of biologically safe lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria originating from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of pigs were identified and characterized in terms of their probiotic properties for potential use in weaned piglets. These strains were divided into two sets based on their origin - from the GIT of wild boars (n = 41) and from the GIT of domestic pigs (n = 16). Strains obtained from wild boars exhibited greater taxonomic diversity compared to isolates from domestic pigs. While searching for coding sequences (CDS) encoding bacteriocins and bile salt hydrolases (BSH), no significant difference was detected between the two tested groups. On the other hand, CDS encoding adhesinlike factors were more frequent in the dataset isolated from wild boars than in the dataset obtained from domestic pigs. Moreover, more CDS encoding carbohydrateactive enzymes (CAZymes) were carried in the genomes of strains obtained from wild boars. Utilization of important selected carbohydrate substrates, such as starch, D-raffinose, D-mannose, Dcellobiose and gentiobiose, was confirmed by API testing. Antimicrobial activity against at least one of the five tested pathogens was found in 51% of wild boar strains but in none of the isolates from domestic pigs.

This suggests that the intestinal microbiota of wild boars could serve as a promising source of probiotics for domestic pigs.