The gut microbiome influences the health and well-being of dogs. However, little is known about the impact of breed on the fecal microbiome composition in dogs. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the differences in the fecal microbiome in three breeds of dog fed and housed under the same conditions, namely eight Maltese (8.0 ± 0.1 years), eight Miniature Schnauzer (8.0 ± 0.0 years), and nine Poodle dogs (8.0 ± 0.0 years). Fresh fecal samples were collected from the dogs and used to extract metagenomic DNA. The composition of the fecal microbiome was evaluated by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing on the MiSeq platform. A total of 840,501 sequences were obtained from the 25 fecal samples and classified as Firmicutes (32.3-97.3% of the total sequences), Bacteroidetes (0.1-62.6%), Actinobacteria (0.2-14.7%), Fusobacteria (0.0-5.7%), and Proteobacteria (0.0-5.1%). The relative abundance of Firmicutes was significantly lower in the Maltese dog breed than that in the other two breeds, while that of Fusobacteria was significantly higher in the Maltese than in the Miniature Schnauzer breed. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, Turicibacter, Succinivibrio, and Anaerobiospirillum differed significantly among the three dog breeds. These genera had no correlation with age, diet, sex, body weight, vaccination history, or parasite protection history. Within a breed, some of these genera had a correlation with at least one blood chemistry value. This study indicates that the composition of the fecal microbiome in dogs is affected by breed.

Background African swine fever (ASF), caused by the ASF virus (ASFV), was first reported in Vietnam in 2019 and spread rapidly thereafter. Better insights into ASFV characteristics and early detection by surveillance could help control its spread. However, the pathogenicity and methods for early detection of ASFV isolates from Vietnam have not been established. Therefore, we investigated the pathogenicity of ASFV and explored alternative sampling methods for early detection. Results Ten pigs were intramuscularly inoculated with an ASFV strain from Vietnam (titer, 103.5 HAD50/mL), and their temperature, clinical signs, and virus excretion patterns were recorded. In addition, herd and environmental samples were collected daily. The pigs died 5–8 days-post-inoculation (dpi), and the incubation period was 3.7 ± 0.5 dpi. ASFV genome was first detected in the blood (2.2 ± 0.8) and then in rectal (3.1 ± 0.7), nasal (3.2 ± 0.4), and oral (3.6 ± 0.7 dpi) swab samples. ASFV was detected in oral fluid samples collected using a chewed rope from 3 dpi. The liver showed the highest viral loads, and ear tissue also exhibited high viral loads among 11 tissues obtained from dead pigs. Overall, ASFV from Vietnam was classified as peracute to acute form. The rope-based oral fluid collection method could be useful for early ASFV detection and allows successful ASF surveillance in large pig farms. Furthermore, ear tissue samples might be a simple alternative specimen for diagnosing ASF infection in dead pigs. Conclusions Our data provide valuable insights into the characteristics of a typical ASFV strain isolated in Vietnam and suggest an alternative, non-invasive specimen collection strategy for early detection.

The purpose of this study was to provide a new insight on the response of canines to stress exposure; the ionomic profiles of canine hair (2.8 ± 0.3 years, 15.17 ± 2.1 kg) (n = 10) was determined before and after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injections. LPS was intramuscularly injected to induce inflammatory stress responses which were confirmed by observing increases in the level of serum cortisol, aldosterone, and inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. The hair contents of 17 elements were obtained by applying analytical procedures using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The following elements: sodium(Na) and potassium(K) among macro-elements, iron(Fe) and manganese(Mn) among micro-elements, and aluminum(Al), nickel(Ni), and lead(Pb) for toxic elements, showed significant increased levels with the immunological stress. The degree of increase in toxic elements was remarkable with the stress exposure. A forty-five-fold increase seen in Al accumulation with the stress exposure was noteworthy. Although mercury(Hg) and cadmium(Cd) showed decreased levels with the stress exposure, the degree was negligible compared to the level of increase. Correlation pattern between the elements was changed with the immunological stress. Toxic elements became more correlated with macro- or micro-elements than with toxic elements themselves after the stress exposure. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that LPS challenge shifted the overall hair mineral profiles to a consistent direction changing Al and K up, even in animals with different hair mineral profiles before LPS treatment. In conclusion, the multivariate data processing and study of element distribution patterns provided new information about the ionomic response of the canine hairs to immunological stress, i.e., the ionomic profiles of canine hairs is strongly affected by the stress induced by LPS injections.

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