BioSB 2026 Conference

The BioSB 2026 conference is the annual Netherlands Bioinformatics & Systems Biology conference, bringing together researchers, students, and industry professionals working in the fields of bioinformatics and systems biology.

Poster presentation

Meta analysis of pig gut microbiome reveals co-occuring microbial guilds across different times and locations.

The intestinal microbiome of piglets experiences destabilisation during the weaning transition, a critical developmental phase marked by abrupt environmental and dietary shifts. This period of stress leaves piglets vulnerable to pathogenic colonization, particularly by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, resulting in post-weaning diarrhea. The pork industry continues to suffer substantial economic losses, with treatment options being limited antibiotics due to an incomplete understanding of the specific microbiome alterations that predispose piglets to post-weaning diarrhea.

Previous longitudinal pig studies before have demonstrated that the composition of the pig gut microbiota are predictive of host age[10.1128/spectrum.01722-23]. Data from 23 studies across 2021-2025 spanning over 3000 samples, were examined to confirm these findings and expand upon the existing body of literature. Amplicon assays were reanalysed and prior findings were confirmed using Dirichlet multinomial mixtures. Microbial co-occurrence networks spanning studies and time were constructed using SPARCC, and co-occurring micobial guilds were identified using louvain clustering. Inter microbial conditional dependence over time was analysed using Meinshausen- Bühlmann’s neighborhood selection, and network motifs relating to the disproportionate effect of excess protein on certain microbial guilds leading to diarrhea were investigated.

While microbial guilds have been shown to be indicative of microbial age, Louvain clustering applied to co-occurrence matrices did not reveal consistent clusters across weekly time series. However, Meinshausen-Bühlmann’s networks generated over time suggest microbial dynamics and may elucidate the mechanism related to excess protein availability in the pig gut and diarrhea.