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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2009, p. 5489-5495, Vol. 75, No. 17
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02220-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Alteration of the Ileal Microbiota of Weanling Piglets by the Growth-Promoting Antibiotic Chlortetracycline ^{, ,}

Elizabeth Rettedal,¹ Sébastien Vilain,^1,5 Stacy Lindblom,² Kelly Lehnert,¹ Clay Scofield,¹ Sajan George,¹ Sharon Clay,³ Radhey S. Kaushik,^1,4,5 Artur J. M. Rosa,² David Francis,^4,5 and Volker S. Brözel^1,5*

Departments of Biology and Microbiology,¹ Animal and Range Science,² Plant Science,³ Veterinary Science,⁴ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Vaccinology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota 57007⁵

Received 25 September 2008/ Accepted 5 July 2009

Antibiotics such as chlortetracycline (CTC) have been used to promote growth of pigs for decades, but concerns over increased antibiotic-resistant infections in humans have prompted the development of alternative strategies. Developing alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) could be informed by information on the mechanisms of growth promotion, notably, how AGPs affect the microbial populations of the gastrointestinal tract. Pigs from three sows were aseptically delivered by cesarean section. Six piglets were distributed to each of two foster mothers until weaning, when piglets were fed a diet with or without 50 mg/kg CTC for 2 weeks. The ileal bacterial microbiota was characterized by using a cultivation-independent approach based on DNA extraction, PCR amplification, cloning, and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene pool. The ileal and mucosal communities of these growing pigs were dominated by Lactobacillus bacteria, various members of the family Clostridiaceae, and members of the poorly known genus Turicibacter. Overall, CTC treatment resulted in three shifts: a decrease in Lactobacillus johnsonii, an increase in L. amylovorus, and a decrease in Turicibacter phylotypes. The composition of the microbiota varied considerably between individual pigs, as revealed by shared operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and similarity (SONS) analysis (_YC values). While the observed variation between untreated pigs obscured the possible effect of CTC, -LIBSHUFF and SONS analyses of pooled libraries indicated a significant shift due to CTC in both the lumen and the mucosa, with some OTUs unique to either treated or control ileum. DOTUR analysis revealed little overlap between control and treated communities at the 3% difference level, indicating unique ileal communities in the presence of CTC.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: South Dakota State University, SNP 252B, Box 2140D, Brookings, SD 57007. Phone: (605) 688-6483. Fax: (605) 688-5624. E-mail: volker.brozel{at}sdstate.edu

Published ahead of print on 17 July 2009.

Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Journal series publication 3627 from the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2009, p. 5489-5495, Vol. 75, No. 17
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02220-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.