Évaluation du lien entre la caudophagie et le microbiote intestinal chez le porc
Tail biting is a behavior problem seen in pigs defined by the act of nibbling of the tail of a penmate. This behavioral disorder represents an important challenge in porcine production because it generates substantial economic losses and affects animal welfare. Some solutions are already in place to minimize this phenomenon, such as enriching the environment or tail docking, but they are either not optimal or present issues for animal welfare. Diet has been shown to have an effect on tail biting and this could be because of changes in the intestinal microbiota. In humans, intestinal microbiota has been shown to modulate behavior. This action would be a part of the so-called brain-intestinal microbiota axis. This study aimed to evaluate the association between tail-biting and intestinal microbiota in pigs. The intestinal microbiota of biter and bitten pigs was compared to a negative control group (non-biter and non-bitten). The different groups of pigs (n=36 in total) were selected at the beginning of the growing/finishing phase by the analysis of a targeted behavior analysis centered on tail-biting (biter group) and a notation grid of damages caused to the tail (bitten group). Composite sample of fecal matter were sampled at the beginning and at the end of a tail-biting episode. Serum cortisol was measured by an ELISA assay.   The V4 segment of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced in order to study the structure and composition of the IM and quantitative PCR (qPCR) method was used to quantify lactobacilli in the different groups. The beta diversity analysis revealed a significant difference between the intestinal microbiota structure of biter and bitten pigs in comparison to the negative control group in terms of relative abundance of operational taxonomic unit. For the composition, Lactobacillus, compared to other groups, were significantly more associated with the negative control group (p=0.001). Results of qPCR showed higher levels of lactobacilli in this same group. However, no significant differences were found in alfa diversity analysis. Cortisol levels were significantly higher in biter and bitten pigs in comparison to the negative control group (p=0.02, p=0.0076 respectively). This study demonstrates that tail-biting is associated to the IM structure and composition in pigs.
Pigs Intestinal microbiota Behavioral disorder Tail-biting