Characterization and comparison of the bacterial microbiota in different gastrointestinal tract compartments in horses

Costa, Márcio Paulino; Silva, G.; Ramos, Ricardo; Staempfli, H. R.; Arroyo, Luis; Kim, P.; Weese, J. Scott

doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.03.018

Cited by 170 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The present data agree with previous findings [30] in that, with regard to luminal microbial populations, there are two distinct regions of the equine gastrointestinal tract. The microbial composition within the upper GIT, represented here by the stomach, jejunum, and ileum, was highly variable between horses, and between regions within the same horse.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

A Microbiological Map of the Healthy Equine Gastrointestinal Tract

et al. 2016

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Horses are exquisitely sensitive to non-specific gastrointestinal disturbances as well as systemic and extraintestinal conditions related to gut health, yet minimal data are available regarding the composition of the microbiota present in the equine stomach, small intestine, and cecum and their relation to fecal microbiota. Moreover, there is minimal information regarding the concordance of the luminal and mucosal microbial communities throughout the equine gut. Illumina-based 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of the luminal and mucosal microbiota present in seven regions of the gastrointestinal tract of nine healthy adult horses revealed a distinct compositional divide between the small and large intestines. This disparity in composition was more pronounced within the luminal contents, but was also detected within mucosal populations. Moreover, the uniformity of the gut microbiota was much higher in the cecum and colon relative to that in the stomach, jejunum and ileum, despite a significantly higher number of unique sequences detected in the colon. Collectively, the current data suggest that while colonic samples (a proxy for feces) may provide a reasonable profile of the luminal contents of the healthy equine large intestine, they are not informative with regard to the contents of the stomach or small intestine. In contrast to the distinct difference between the highly variable upper gastrointestinal tract microbiota and relatively uniform large bowel microbiota present within the lumen, these data also demonstrate a regional continuity present in mucosal microbial communities throughout the length of the equine gut.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

A Microbiological Map of the Healthy Equine Gastrointestinal Tract

et al. 2016

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“…The impact of the change of diet was marked, despite a high inter-horse variability as seen in the large mean standard errors that was found mainly in lactate concentrations in the caecum and colon. This confirmed the individual susceptibility, seen in horses fed high-starch diets as previously reported by several authors studying the equine hindgut microbial ecosystem (Julliand et al, 2001;Medina et al, 2002;Dougal et al, 2012 andSchoster et al, 2013;Sadet-Bourgeteau et al, 2014;Costa et al, 2015), and confirmed that some horses are more likely to develop digestive dysbiosis and potential intestinal diseases, such as colic. Using PCA the data showed that the two microbial ecosystems of horses clearly differed with the diet, and thus established that the hindgut microbiota was altered with the B diet.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…These faecal parameters could be of particular usefulness for the diagnosis of microbial imbalances in the caecum and RV colon (the proximal hindgut). Previous studies have shown that faeces could be representative of the distal hindgut microbial composition, but not of the proximal hindgut (Da Veiga et al, 2005;Hastie et al, 2008;Dougal et al, 2012 andSchoster et al, 2013;Sadet-Bourgeteau et al, 2014;Costa et al, 2015). In this study the data demonstrated that variations in the proximal hindgut microbial ecosystem could have repercussions on the faecal one.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…The accessibility to such contents is not possible routinely from nonexperimental animals, as there is no direct access to these gut regions, whereas faeces can easily be collected and could be used as suitable samples to generate biomarkers to evaluate the status of the hindgut microbiota. Several studies have compared the hindgut and the faeces in terms of microbial diversity and structure (Da Veiga et al, 2005;Hastie et al, 2008;Dougal et al, 2012 andSchoster et al, 2013;Sadet-Bourgeteau et al, 2014;Costa et al, 2015) and in terms of microbial activity (Da Veiga et al, 2005;Dougal et al, 2012). Overall, these studies concluded that the microbial communities found in the proximal region of the hindgut (caecum, right ventral (RV) colon and left ventral colon) clearly differed from those found in the distal region (left dorsal colon and right dorsal colon), with the change occurring at the pelvic flexure region of the gut.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Faecal parameters as biomarkers of the equine hindgut microbial ecosystem under dietary change

Grimm

Philippeau

Julliand

2017

Animal

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Faeces could be used for evaluating the balance of the equine hindgut microbial ecosystem, which would offer a practical method for assessing gut health and how this relates to disease. However, previous studies concluded that faeces microbial ecosystem was not representative of the proximal hindgut (caecum and ventral colon). This study aimed to evaluate if variations of the faecal microbial ecosystem were similar to those observed in the proximal hindgut. Six horses, fistulated in the caecum and right ventral (RV) colon, were subjected to a gradual change of diet, from a 100% hay (high fibre) diet (2.2 DM kg/day per 100 kg BW) to a 57% hay + 43% barley (high starch) diet (0.8 DM kg/day per 100 kg BW hay and 0.6 DM kg/day per 100 kg BW barley). The two diets were iso-energetic and fed over a 3-week trial period. Samples of digesta from the caecum, RV colon and faeces were collected two times on the 10th and 20th day of the trial, for each diet to assess the microbial ecosystem parameters by both classical culture technics and biochemical methods. The variations observed in the caecal and colonic bacterial composition (increase in total anaerobic, amylolytic and lactate-utilizing and decrease in cellulolytic bacteria concentrations) and microbial activity (changes in volatile fatty acids concentrations and increase in lactate concentrations) demonstrated that the hay + barley diet caused changes in the hindgut microbial ecosystem. Similar variations were observed in the faecal microbial ecosystem. Feeding the hay + barley diet resulted in higher concentrations of faecal lipopolysaccharides. The functional bacterial group concentrations (cellulolytics, amylolytics and lactate utilizers) were significantly correlated between caecum and faeces and between colon and faeces. From analyses of the metabolites produced from microbial activity, only valerate concentration in the caecum and the proportion of propionate were significantly correlated with the same parameters in the faeces. Results of the principal component analysis performed between all the caecal/faecal and colonic/faecal parameters revealed that the total anaerobic and cellulolytic bacteria concentrations, as well as valerate, L-lactate and lipopolysaccharide concentrations were strongly correlated with several microbial parameters in the caecum ( P < 0.027; r > |0.45|) and in the colon ( P < 0.013; r > |0.50|). This demonstrated that faecal samples and their bacterial analyses could be used to represent caecum and RV colon hindgut microbial ecosystem in terms of variations during a change from a high-fibre to a high-starch diet, and thus could be markers of particular interest to diagnostic proximal hindgut microbial disturbances.

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“…Various conditions have been proven to alter equine intestinal or fecal microbiota; colitis and colic, grass sickness, laminitis, antimicrobial administration and diet changes are just some of many (Garrett et al, 2002;Harlow et al, 2013;Costa et al, 2015a;. The changes occurring in the digestive tract of sick animals can be immense and understanding the impact the disease has on microbiota is essential (Costa and Weese, 2012;Mullen et al, 2016).…”

Section: Clinical Indications For Probiotic Use In Horsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of Probiotics in Horses with Gastrointestinal Disease

Gotić¹,

Grden²,

Babić³

et al. 2017

American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences

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Probiotics are common adjunctive therapy used in human and veterinary medicine, mostly intended for gastrointestinal diseases treatment or prevention. Lactic acid bacteria: Lactobacilli, bifid bacteria and enterococci and Saccharomyces boulardii, a subtype of the nonpathogenic yeast have been most frequently used as probiotic active ingredients. To become a recognized effective probiotic, a certain microorganism must fulfill many expectations, primarily the ability to survive gastrointestinal tract passage, adhere to epithelial cells and colonize intestines to present antimicrobial effect and inhibition of enteric pathogens. Prior to evaluation of clinical efficiency, it is advised to perform in vitro studies in order to identify potentially beneficial properties of probiotic organisms. An effective probiotic product could be of a great value in equine medicine, since both, adult horses and foals, frequently exhibit gastrointestinal problems. However, very little objective research has been carried out on the topic. The effectiveness of probiotic products in horses has been proven in very few studies and some presented serious adverse effects. Therefore, the benefits of probiotics use in equine medicine still remain undetermined.

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Characterization and comparison of the bacterial microbiota in different gastrointestinal tract compartments in horses

Cited by 170 publications

References 33 publications

A Microbiological Map of the Healthy Equine Gastrointestinal Tract

A Microbiological Map of the Healthy Equine Gastrointestinal Tract

Faecal parameters as biomarkers of the equine hindgut microbial ecosystem under dietary change

The use of Probiotics in Horses with Gastrointestinal Disease

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