The final hygienic and nutritional properties of the feed will depend on the substrates and fermentation process used (
4,
20). Fermented wet feed reduces the pH and the number of coliform bacteria in the animal gastrointestinal tract (
9,
24,
30). Daily weight gain, feed conversion ratios, and gastrointestinal health can also be improved (
4,
12). Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in fermented wet feed may have positive effects on the lower-gut microflora (
37). The acidification of feed by the microbial metabolism may reduce the emptying rate of the stomach (
22) and stimulate the secretion of proteolytic enzymes (
11). The proliferation of spoilage organisms and food-borne pathogens can be prevented by low pH and high concentrations of lactic and acetic acids (
2-
4,
38). Lyberg et al. (
20) found that the pH decreased to approximately 4.0 during the first 3 to 5 days of feed fermentation and that this reduction reduced the levels of enterobacteria in the fermented feed. The reduction of pH in liquid feeds by fermentation would therefore be a cost-effective method of reducing enteropathogens and spoilage organisms in the diet (
9). Yeasts are sometimes considered undesirable in liquid diets, because they may confer off-flavors and taints that would affect the palatability of the feed (
4). Yeasts may, on the other hand, inhibit mold growth (
26) and may induce positive effects in the gastrointestinal tract (
32). One concern is that yeast metabolism can convert starch into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which may result in high ethanol contents and losses of energy due to carbon dioxide production (
5). However, in spite of high yeast CFU numbers during fermentation, we previously found only low levels of ethanol and small losses of weight in the feed (
20).
With the exception of pathogens, the microbial community in fermented feed has been characterized only by the quantification of certain groups of fermenting microorganisms, e.g., LAB and yeasts (
3,
6,
25). We recently performed an analysis of chemical parameters in different fermented feed mixtures, together with a quantitative analysis of the microbial populations (
20). However, very little is known about the species-level identities of the organisms involved. Fluctuations in the composition of the microbial population that are not detected by quantification but that will still have an effect on the feed quality may thus occur. The aim of this study was to characterize and identify the LAB and yeasts involved in the fermentation processes for three different pig feeds that consisted of the same dry cereal base in combination with wet wheat distillers' grains, whey, or water as liquid components and that were fermented at different temperatures.
DISCUSSION
With the exception of pathogens, microbial populations in fermented pig feed have, until this study, been characterized only by the numbers of CFU of microorganisms of certain groups (LAB and yeasts, etc.) in the feed (see, e.g., references
3,
6, and
25). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that identifies the LAB and yeasts involved in cereal pig feed fermentation. Our study suggests that for each feed, characteristic associations of LAB and yeast species develop. The species compositions and numbers of CFU varied with substrates, temperatures, fermentation periods, and the addition of new feed components. The CFU values for yeasts in WAT and WWDG feeds were quite low at the start of fermentation but increased with increased fermentation temperatures and feed replacement. However, during the period of daily feed replacement, the CFU values were relatively stable (
20). Interestingly, despite different feeds' yielding similar CFU values, the population diversity varied, particularly that in WAT feed. Generally, the populations of both yeast and LAB in feed fermented at 10°C were more diverse than those in feeds fermented at 15 and 20°C (Table
4).
In WWDG feed, the dominant population indicated that the use of wet wheat distillers' grains influenced the development of the microbial population in feed due to the microbial activity in the liquid. In W feed, the yeast CFU values were stable during the whole fermentation period, probably due to the high level of yeast in the whey substrate itself (
20). The dominating yeast population in W feed completely shifted from
Kluyveromyces marxianus to
Pichia membranifaciens, with a faster change at higher fermentation temperatures. The presence of additional yeasts in feed may be beneficial. The growth of yeast may, for example, improve the protein composition of the feed, and
Kluyveromyces marxianus has indeed been utilized as a single-cell protein source (
33).
Pichia membranifaciens and
Pichia anomala, which were dominant in W and WAT feeds, respectively, have both been shown to inhibit molds during airtight storage of moist cereal grains (
8). The LAB flora in WAT feed consisted mainly of
Pediococcus pentosaceus but changed during fermentation and was more diverse in feed fermented at 10°C than in those fermented at 15 and 20°C. In W feed, the LAB population was completely dominated by
Lactobacillus plantarum, indicating fast adaptation to or intrinsic preference for the nutritional and environmental conditions. In WWDG feed, the population diversity increased after feed replacement. Lactobacilli are widespread in nature, and many species have been found to have applications in the food and feed industries (
17,
29). Strains of
Lactobacillus plantarum and
Pediococcus pentosaceus have been reported previously to have antifungal activity in the production of both grass silage (
34) and sourdough bread (
15), and it is possible that our isolates have similar characteristics.
Lactobacillus spp. have been found to proliferate rapidly during the first days of the fermentation of pig feed, after which fairly constant numbers are maintained (
10,
12,
20,
28). However, identifying yeasts and LAB to the species level demonstrated substantial changes within these apparently stable populations. Thus, CFU numbers alone cannot be regarded as a reliable indicator of population stability. It can be concluded that during the spontaneous fermentation of pig feed, each feed develops characteristic associations of LAB and yeast species. Some of the identified LAB and yeast species have been shown to have antimicrobial activity that may protect from colonization with potentially pathogenic microbes. However, due to considerable variation within the microbial populations of each feed, it may be difficult to assess the general impact of these populations on pig gut health. This finding suggests that better control of the fermentation conditions, in particular temperature, but also the use of starter cultures, is necessary in order to make use of the full potential of feed fermentation in the pig industry.
In WWDG feed, the LAB flora consisted mainly of
Pediococcus pentosaceus during the whole fermentation period. This species was also the only LAB species isolated from wet wheat distillers' grains (Table
1). Absolut wet wheat distillers' grains were sterile at despatch (
27), but spontaneous inoculation with microorganisms from the environment may occur during storage. Previously, with comparable isolation methods,
Lactobacillus amylolyticus,
Lactobacillus fermentum,
Lactobacillus panis, and
Lactobacillus pontis have been isolated from stored wet wheat distillers' grains (vodka from Absolut, Åhus, Sweden) (
27), but in this study, the only LAB detected was
Pediococcus pentosaceus. Due to different environmental conditions, various microorganisms may have been inoculated into the wet wheat distillers' grains after distillation. Fluctuations in environmental conditions during storage may select for different microflora in wet wheat distillers' grains, and this selection, in turn, is likely to yield feed with differences in microbial diversity, which may, thus, also have altered nutritional value. Variations in the microflora may affect the hygienic properties of feed, e.g., increasing pH may support increased levels of undesirable microbes, like various enterobacteria (
28). We did not find any clostridia in our systems (
20), but they may become a problem when raw materials that come in contact with soil are used (
23).
During the fermentation of animal feed, the presence of yeasts is considered undesirable due to their metabolic activities. Yeast starch metabolism may result in energy losses in the feed due to alcohol and carbon dioxide production (
5). However, we observed only low levels of ethanol and small weight losses during the fermentation of these feeds (
20). The fermentation environment may be altered due to lactate assimilation by some of the dominant yeast species present in the different feeds (
13). This effect may occur with
Pichia anomala and
Kluyveromyces marxianus, whereas
Pichia galeiformis and
Pichia membranifaciens have been described previously as having low and strain-variable levels of lactate assimilation, respectively (
13). The reduction of pH occurs in W and WAT feeds during the first 3 to 7 days, with a faster reduction at higher fermentation temperatures (
20). In W feed fermented at 10°C, the pH is not reduced to the same extent as that in other feeds, most probably due to reduced fermentation into organic acids by LAB at low temperatures. WWDG feed showed no further pH reduction during fermentation, probably because the pH of wheat distillers' grains was already low initially.
The lactic acid concentrations in W and WAT feeds were high, but the concentration in WWDG feed was significantly lower, independent of fermentation temperatures for each feed (
20).
Lactobacillus plantarum was the dominant LAB in W feed but was also present in WWDG and WAT feeds after 3 to 5 days of fermentation.
Lactobacillus plantarum is a heterofermentative LAB that can produce ethanol, acetate, and carbon dioxide, in addition to lactic acid (
29). This characteristic may explain the somewhat higher concentrations of acetic acid in W feed than in WAT feed (
20). The acetic acid contents in both W and WAT feed were relatively low, but that in WWDG feed was significantly higher (
20). The level of lactic acid and the proportion of lactic acid relative to acetic acid may influence the palatability of the feed, resulting in decreased feed intake by the pigs (
5,
30).
Pediococcus pentosaceus, the prevalent LAB in WAT and WWDG feeds, is homofermentative (
29). This characteristic implies that this species cannot account for the high acetic acid content in WWDG feed. Thus, other acetate-producing microorganisms might have been present in the fermentations.
Feed fermentation is a spontaneous process, caused by the microbial population present in the feed components. Although the effects of fermented feed on the animals' health and nutrition are generally positive, they vary among different batches (
4,
30). Our study provides a first insight into some of the factors that may influence this variability. Whereas these fermented feeds could be regarded as stable as assessed by traditional CFU methods for the determination of microbial dynamics, species identification demonstrated considerable variation within the microbial populations. Further studies are required to identify microorganisms that are appropriate to generate high-quality fermented feed and that can be used as starter cultures. This high-quality fermented feed should have a low pH (below 4.2) to minimize the pathogen load in the feed, a high content of lactic acid to reduce the number of pathogenic bacteria in the gut, a low content of acetic acid, and no biogenic amines, because high biogenic amine contents can reduce feed intake and may even be toxic. A high level of mineral availability, for instance, due to high phytase activity, is also desired (
4,
12,
19).
Moreover, new diagnostic methods are required to monitor the quality of fermentation. Starter cultures may be established using dominant LAB identified in this study. It may also be interesting to determine whether it is possible to include appropriate yeasts in the starter culture. Although mainly undesired in fermented feed (
5), yeasts can improve the protein content of the feed and prevent the growth of other undesired microorganisms (
18,
26).