Advances in Pig Microbiome: Gut Influences and Beyond

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Pigs".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1292

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: pigs; gut microbiota; gut health; nutrition; metabolism; microbiome
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China
Interests: gut health; immunity; pigs; microbiome; plant extracts

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research on the gut microbiome has emerged as a frontier hotspot in the interdisciplinary field of agricultural science and biomedical science. As a globally important economic animal and human disease model, the porcine gut microbiota not only directly impacts host health, production performance, and alternatives to in-feed antibiotics, but also provides unique perspectives for understanding host–microbe interaction mechanisms. Recent breakthroughs in metagenomics, metabolomics, culturomics, and other technologies have significantly advanced the isolation and functional characterization of intestinal microbial strains in pigs. Extensive studies have validated the pivotal role of gut microbiota in intestinal health, host metabolism, and immune regulation.

Gut microbiota plays a vital role in shaping porcine phenotypic traits. Microbial communities and their metabolites mediate the regulatory effects of dietary interventions on growth performance, intestinal health, and metabolic status in pigs. Deciphering the porcine gut microbiome will deepen our understanding of the mechanisms of host–microbe interactions. This Special Issue aims to compile research findings on porcine gut microbiome and its impacts on intestinal development, health, and even systemic physiology, while exploring its application potential in efficient, healthy, and environmentally sustainable animal husbandry practices.

Prof. Dr. Yong Su
Dr. Yang Lu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pigs
  • microbiome
  • gut health
  • dietary regulation
  • metabolism

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

13 pages, 2083 KB  
Article
Gut Fungal Community Modulates Fat Deposition in Ningxiang Pigs: Species-Specific Regulation via the Glucose–SCFAs Metabolic Axis
by Pengfei Huang, Hanmin Wang, Juan Wang, Zhenrong Qiu, Chunfeng Wang, Han Liu, Qiye Wang, Yali Li and Huansheng Yang
Animals 2025, 15(13), 1887; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15131887 - 26 Jun 2025
Viewed by 454
Abstract
Despite limited understanding of gut fungal roles in fat deposition among indigenous pig breeds, a comparative study between high-fat-accumulating Ningxiang (NX) pigs and lean-type Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire (DLY) pigs reveals a fungal-driven regulatory mechanism. NX pigs exhibited significantly higher fat percentage, [...] Read more.
Despite limited understanding of gut fungal roles in fat deposition among indigenous pig breeds, a comparative study between high-fat-accumulating Ningxiang (NX) pigs and lean-type Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire (DLY) pigs reveals a fungal-driven regulatory mechanism. NX pigs exhibited significantly higher fat percentage, elevated serum glucose, and markedly reduced total colonic short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) compared to DLY pigs (all p < 0.001), with butyrate showing the most pronounced decrease. Beta-diversity confirmed distinct fungal communities (p = 0.002), where NX pigs were enriched with Aspergillus and Penicillium, while DLY pigs harbored dominant Rhodotorula. Strong correlations were observed: NX-enriched fungi positively correlated with glucose and negatively with SCFAs, whereas Rhodotorula strongly associated with SCFAs (p < 0.001). FUNGuild analysis linked Aspergillus/Penicillium to enhanced polysaccharide degradation and glucose bioavailability. The findings propose a gut fungal-mediated “Glucose–SCFAs axis”: NX-enriched fungi elevate glucose (promoting lipogenesis) and suppress SCFAs (reducing butyrate-mediated adipocyte inhibition), whereas Rhodotorula in DLY pigs enhances SCFAs-induced lipolysis. Crucially, we demonstrate that fungal modulation primarily drives fat deposition differences between breeds, offering novel probiotics/antifungal strategies for precision swine breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pig Microbiome: Gut Influences and Beyond)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

60 pages, 1328 KB  
Review
A Comprehensive Review: Current Strategies for Detoxification of Deoxynivalenol in Feedstuffs for Pigs
by Changning Yu, Peter Plaizier, Joshua Gong, Chengbo Yang and Song Liu
Animals 2025, 15(18), 2739; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15182739 - 19 Sep 2025
Viewed by 536
Abstract
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum, primarily contaminating wheat, corn, and their derivatives. Although less toxic than some other mycotoxins, DON is significant due to its abundance, particularly in wheat, and its resistance to in vitro [...] Read more.
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum, primarily contaminating wheat, corn, and their derivatives. Although less toxic than some other mycotoxins, DON is significant due to its abundance, particularly in wheat, and its resistance to in vitro detoxification. Compared to other livestock, pigs are the most susceptible animals to DON’s presence due to its interaction with wheat-heavy diets. The best way to attenuate the effects of DON is to prevent its presence on cultivated land; however, given that it is difficult to prevent the occurrence of DON in freshly harvested cereals completely, other strategies must be applied. For pigs, chronic consumption of feed with DON concentrations below even the regulated limits can still negatively impact growth. Thus, DON-detoxifying agents including antidotes, DON binding agents, and exogenous in vivo enzyme additives, have been added to feed in an attempt to detoxify DON. This comprehensive review highlights the most recently developed DON-detoxification techniques and assesses each treatment’s viability and efficacy, with an emphasis on chemical and biochemical techniques and the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Herein we explore the unmet needs and future directions of current technologies while discussing promising strategies that can advance the DON-detoxification field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pig Microbiome: Gut Influences and Beyond)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop