Late weaning is associated with increased microbial diversity and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii abundance in the fecal microbiota of piglets

Abstract

Overall, these results show that late weaning increased gut microbiota diversity and the abundance of F. prausnitzii, a microorganism with positive effects in humans. Piglets might thus derive a competitive advantage from later weaning because they have more time to accumulate a higher diversity of potentially beneficial microbes prior to the stressful and risky weaning period.