Postbiotics from <i>Pichia kudriavzevii</i> promote intestinal health performance through regulation of <i>Limosilactobacillus reuteri</i> in weaned piglets

Abstract

Postbiotics are attractive as alternatives to antibiotics for use against post-weaning diarrhea. However, their beneficial mechanisms are largely unknown. In the current study, we first demonstrated that supplementation with 0.5% <i>Pichia kudriavzevii</i> FZ12 postbiotics in the diet significantly reduced diarrhea incidence, promoted growth performance, improved gut health performance, and significantly enriched beneficial bacteria, particularly <i>Lactobacillus</i> spp., in the intestines of weaned piglets. Importantly, we identified a heat- and proteinase K-sensitive component, cytochrome <i>c</i>, of the postbiotics that significantly promoted the growth and biofilm formation of <i>Limosilactobacillus reuteri</i> FP13. We demonstrated the importance of <i>P. kudriavzevii</i> FZ12 postbiotics in improving the intestinal health of a model animal and revealed that cytochrome <i>c</i> is one of the important components of yeast postbiotics. These findings may provide new insights into microbe-postbiotics interplay that can be applied to guidelines for dietary modulation to alleviate weaning-induced diarrhea.