Associations Between Gut Microbiota and Fecal Semiochemical and Metabolic Profiles in Sows During the Periparturient...

The attraction of neonatal piglets to sow feces and their coprophagy suggests that fecal semiochemicals promote nutrient intake and gut colonization, but their microbial origin is poorly understood. This study explored associations between gut microbiota and fecal semiochemical/metabolic profiles in prepartum and postpartum sows. Fecal samples were collected from six crossbred sows at 4 days prepartum and 3 days postpartum. Nutritional components, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), untargeted metabolomics, and gut microbiota were analyzed. Nutritional composition remained largely stable postpartum, except that sodium increased while potassium, magnesium, and cellulose decreased. Skatole and p-cresol concentrations increased postpartum even after dry matter correction. Untargeted metabolomics identified 298 differentially abundant metabolites (250 up, 48 down) postpartum, enriched in nicotinamide/nicotinate metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, and others. Gut microbial alpha diversity (Shannon, Chao1, observed features) decreased postpartum. Fibrolytic and butyrate-producing bacteria (e.g., Ruminococcaceae UCG-005, Lachnospira) were enriched prepartum, whereas Escherichia-Shigella, Christensenellaceae R-7 group and Enterococcus were more abundant postpartum. Spearman correlations showed skatole and p-cresol were strongly negatively correlated with butyrate-producing bacteria and positively correlated with postpartum-enriched genera. This study uncovered prepartum-to-postpartum shifts in sow fecal components and microbiota, revealing a microbial basis for semiochemical production and offering probiotic insights using coprophagy to improve piglet health.