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Stimulation of early solid feed ingestion in the nest accelerates the maturation of the rabbits caecal microbiota
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Edité par CCSD -
International audience. This study evaluated the relevancy of early life nutritional intervention for shaping the rabbit caecal microbiota. Thirty-two litters had free access to a pelleted feed from 15 days in addition with doe milk. In the early feeding group (EF), a starter feed in a gel form was added in the nest from 3 to 17 days, while rabbits from the control group (C) only had access to milk until 15 days. Caecal bacterial communities of 10 rabbits per group were assessed at 18, 25, 30, 38 and 58 days of age, by 16S rDNA sequencing. The intake of starter feed in the nest (1.1±0.4 g of DM/rabbit) had subsequent effects on alpha-and betadiversities (+17 points for InvSimpson index at 30 days of age, P=0.018). From 18 days onwards, the structure of EF rabbit caecum bacterial communities was closer to the microbiota structure observed at 58 days than in C group, suggesting a higher maturity state at each age. With starter feeding, the microbiota acquired greater proportions of Ruminococcaceae at d18 (P=0.043, +5%) and it sped up the expected decrease of Bacteroidaceae at 25 and 30 days (-9% and-8% resp. P<0.05). Concomitantly, an increased production of volatile fatty acids was observed before weaning in EF group (+25% at 30 days). Our results suggest that early feeding can promote the maturity of the rabbit caecal ecosystem with long-term effects. A faster establishment of a stable microbiota would favor the maturation of rabbit's immune system and thus would reduce the risk of dysbiosis. Those effects will be investigated in the future to determine if early feeding strategy represents an effective tool to reduce the occurrence of enteritis around weaning.
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