The Pig’s gut microbiota represents one of the most important and complex microbial community in nature involved in numerous physiological processes of the host such as the development of the gastrointestinal system, uptake of feeding, release of active metabolites, stimulation and modulation of the immunity system. Although in the last years a lot of studies involving the characterization of the pig’s intestinal microbiota have been conducted, most of them have only focused on bacterial community, and very little is currently known about the composition of the fungal population or “mycobiota”.
Nero Siciliano is an autochthonous pig breed reared in the internal areas of Sicily island (Italy), specifically in Madonie’s Park and Nebrodi’s Park. This breed shows wild phenotypic traits that differ from other commercial varieties bred in an intensive way.
Here we report the first characterization of the intestinal mycobiota of Nero Siciliano pig by using a culture-dependent approach and DNA sequencing.
A total of 21 pigs, from a swine farm in Messina, were sampled using rectal swabs. The fungi were isolated by streaking the rectal swabs on Sabouraud (SDA) and Potato (PDA) Dextrose Agar plates respectively. The fungal colonies were initially identified using conventional morphological and physiological tests and subsequently their identity was confirmed by standard Sanger sequencing of the ITS1-5,8S-ITS2 region of the rDNA. 
A total of 48 fungal strains were obtained from all examined fecal specimens. Molecular data showed that at least 8 different fungal genera colonized the gut of our pigs and Wickerhamomyces anomalus and Geotrichum candidum (10/48; 21% each) were the most isolated species followed by Diutina catenulata (8/48; ~17%), Clavispora lusitaniae (7/48; ~15%), Trichosporon asahii (5/48; ~10%), Pichia kudriavzevii (2/48; ~4%), Rhodotorula mucilaginosa (2/48; ~4%), and other species (4/48; ~8%). 
The data reported in this study showed that the intestinal gut of Nero Siciliano pig is colonized by the fungal species W. anomalus, G. candidum, D. catenulata, R. mucilaginosa and T. asahii, which were already previously reported as basic components of the pig’s mycobiota in other studies.
Interestingly, our study shows that Nero Siciliano pig is also colonized by C. lusitaniae and P. kudriavzevii, two species with high pathogenic potential for humans. The differences between the mycobiota of the Nero Siciliano pig and that of other breeds could be related to several reasons such as genetic factors, kind of feeding and to the different breeding methods. However, whole-metagenome shotgun analyses are in progress in our lab in order to elucidate the complex structure of Nero Siciliano pig intestinal microbiota and its possible effects on the well-being of this animal.


The Intestinal Mycobiota of Nero Siciliano Pig