Role of gut microbiota modulation in health and production of pigs

The importance of pig as a livestock species contributing to the meat production is well known. However, in recent years, the gut microbiome of pig has received considerable attention, as pigs serve as excellent biomedical models for human health compared to other non-primates. The pig gastro-intestinal tract harbours a lot of microbes, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses and bacteriophages. These microbes form a complex symbiotic ecosystem with the host and play pivotal role in maintaining various physiological, nutritional and immunological mechanisms of pigs. However, factors including rearing and management, environmental and antimicrobials used affect the microbial population in the pig gut affecting their health and growth. So modulation of gut microbiota is required which not only help in improving the health of pigs leading to higher production but also generate more revenue for the pig industry. In recent days, extensive studies have been made on gut microbiota using probiotics along with other prebiotic and feeding highly fermentable carbohydrates and microbial transplantation to reduce anti-microbial dependence for growth, maintenance of pig-health in order to elevate production. The review highlights various factors affecting pig gut microbiota and their role in health maintenance leading to efficient production of pigs.