Changes in the Microbiome Profile in Different Parts of the Intestine in Piglets with Diarrhea.

Determining the taxonomic composition of microbial consortia of the piglet intestine is of great importance for pig production. However, knowledge on the variety of the intestinal microbiome in newborn piglets is limited. Piglet diarrhea is a serious gastrointestinal disease with a high morbidity and mortality that causes great economic damage to the pig industry. In this study, we investigated the microbiome of various sections of the piglet intestine and compared the microbiome composition of healthy and diarrheal piglets using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The results showed that bacteria of the Lactobacillus genus were the most common in the ileum, while Fusobacterium and Bacteroides dominated in the rectum. Comparing the microbiome composition of healthy and diarrheal piglets revealed a reduced number of Lactobacillus bacteria as a hallmark of diarrhea, as did an increased content of representatives of the Escherichia-Shigella genus and a reduced number of Bacteroides, which indicates the contribution of these bacteria to the development of diarrhea in piglets. The relative abundance of Enterococcus bacteria was higher in the diarrhea group. Although some bacteria of this genus are commensals, a small number of species may be associated with the development of diarrhea in piglets. Therefore, our results indicate that the gut microbiome may be an important factor in the development of diarrhea in piglets.

Action of Extracellular Proteases of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus ochraceus Micromycetes on Plasma Hemostasis Proteins.

In this study, we investigated the properties of proteolytic enzymes of two species of Aspergillus, Aspergillus flavus 1 (with a high degree of pathogenicity) and Aspergillus ochraceus L-1 (a conditional pathogen), and their effects on various components of the hemostasis system (in vitro) in the case of their penetration into the bloodstream. We showed that micromycete proteases were highly active in cleaving both globular (albuminolysis) and fibrillar (fibrin) proteins, and, to varying degrees, they could coagulate the plasma of humans and animals (due to proteolysis of factors of the blood coagulation cascade) but were not able to coagulate fibrinogen. The proteases of both Aspergillus fully hydrolyzed thrombi in 120-180 min. Micromycetes did not show hemolytic activity but were able to break down hemoglobin.