{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T18:19:37Z","timestamp":1780337977858,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,25]],"date-time":"2025-10-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761350400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the National Key Research and Development Program of China","award":["2023YFE0124400"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFE0124400"]}]},{"name":"the Specific University Discipline Construction Project","award":["2023B10564001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023B10564001"]}]},{"name":"Youth Project of Guangdong Foshan joint fund of the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation","award":["2022A1515110819"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022A1515110819"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"the National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["32202715"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32202715"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In piglets, the gut microbiota matures in a segment-specific manner during the nursing period, while fecal-based studies provide limited functional resolution across intestinal sites. We profiled the ileum using 16s rRNA gene sequencing and assessed segmental functions by shotgun metagenomics at selected ages. Ileal species richness and diversity were relatively stable across days. Lactobacillus were prominent from day 7, with stage-associated taxa including Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Ligilactobacillus salivarius, and Limosilactobacillus pontis. Through metagenomic functional analysis, at 21 days, genes were enriched in butanoate metabolism, and Limosilactobacillus pontis as a potential probiotic played an important role in it. At day 28, metagenomic analysis indicated higher relative abundance in the ileum of pathways linked to cysteine and methionine metabolism and lysine biosynthesis, largely carried by Limosilactobacillus mucosae, Limosilactobacillus oris, and Limosilactobacillus pontis. These data describe the composition and function of the ileum in the intestines of piglets and indicate a differentiation period around day 21 to day 28.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15213102","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,27]],"date-time":"2025-10-27T07:31:58Z","timestamp":1761550318000},"page":"3102","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Functional and Compositional Changes in Ileal Microbiota in Piglets During the Nursing Period Revealed by 16s rRNA Gene and Metagenomics"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Boxuan","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pengfei","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhijian","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianbo","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bo","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hui","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9341-9932","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jianmin","family":"Chai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2894-8560","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiangchao","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feilong","family":"Deng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ying","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Guevarra, R.B., Lee, J.H., Lee, S.H., Seok, M.-J., Kim, D.W., Kang, B.N., Johnson, T.J., Isaacson, R.E., and Kim, H.B. 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