Pre- and Post-Race Intestinal Microbiota in Long-Distance Sled Dogs and Associations with Performance

Abstract

Simple Summary: The impact of the gut microbiota on endurance performance remains unresolved. Here, we present an association between endurance performance and gut microbiota dysbiosis in sled dogs. We present evidence that normobiosis-associated bacteria prevent the outgrowth of dysbiosis-associated bacteria during the race.Abstract: Although our understanding of the role of the gut microbiota in different diseases is improving, our knowledge regarding how the gut microbiota affects functioning in healthy individuals is still limited. Here, we hypothesize that the gut microbiota could be associated with sled dog endurance-race performance. We investigated the gut microbiota in 166 fecal samples from 96 Alaskan Huskies, representing 16 teams participating in the 2016 Femund Race (400 km) in Norway, relating the microbiota composition to performance and metadata derived from questionnaires. For 16S rRNA gene sequencing-derived compositional data, we found a strong negative association between Enterobacteriaceae (dysbiosis-associated) and Clostridium hiranonis (normobiosis-associated). The teams with the best performances showed both the lowest levels of dysbiosis-associated bacteria prior to the race and the lowest change (decrease) in these bacteria after the race. Taken together, our results support the hypothesis that normobiosis-associated bacteria are involved in resilience mechanisms, potentially preventing growth of Enterobacteriaceae during the race.

Determining Gut Microbial Dysbiosis: a Review of Applied Indexes for Assessment of Intestinal Microbiota Imbalances

“…This index achieved 74% sensitivity and 95% specificity for separation of healthy and CE dogs. Due to this good performance, numerous following studies utilized this index to quantify microbial dysbiosis for dogs or cats with CE ( 47 , 48 ), response to food ( 49 , 50 ), anthelmintic treatment ( 51 ), FMT ( 52 ), and alterations after intensive physical activity ( 53 ).…”

Analysis of the gut microbiome in sled dogs reveals glucosamine- and activity-related effects on gut microbial composition

“…Activity was associated with reduced alpha-diversity in the subgroup of dogs receiving glucosamine, according to Faith’s phylogenetic diversity. Previously, Tysnes et al ( 24 ) found that alpha-diversity in non-supplemented sled dogs did not differ pre- and post-race. Similar to our findings above, it was also found that age had an important role in changes in gut composition after exercise ( 24 ).…”

“…Sled dogs and other intensely exercising dogs frequently experience exercise-induced gastric disease (EIGD), characterized by gastric lesions and increased intestinal permeability ( 20–22 ). Recent work has provided evidence that exercise in racing sled dogs alters the microbiome, resulting in an increase in beneficial microbes and a concomitant decrease in dysbiosis-associated bacteria and supplementation of sled dogs with a targeted symbiotic altered the microbiome and decreased diarrhea, potentially due to a transient increase in Lactobacillaceae and Streptococcaceae and decreases in Clostridiaceae ( 23 , 24 ). However, the ability of dietary supplements to alter the microbiome is unclear.…”

Supplemental Fiber Affects Body Temperature and Fecal Metabolites but Not Respiratory Rate or Body Composition in Mid-Distance Training Sled Dogs

“…As diarrhea is the leading cause of exercise discontinuation in exercising sled dogs ( 1 , 2 ), minimizing pathogenic microbes could have beneficial outcomes related to performance. For example, sled dogs running in a 400-km race in Norway presenting with low levels of dysbiosis-associated bacteria (i.e., Fusobacterium, Clostridium hiranonis , and Blautia ) prior to a race performed better than dogs with a greater level of these bacteria ( 48 ). As such, the fecal metabolite data in the current study suggest a shift toward an improved gut microbial environment.…”