Deciphering the Bifidobacterial Populations within the Canine and Feline Gut Microbiota

Abstract

During the course of evolution, dogs and cats have been subjected to extensive domestication, becoming the principal companion animals for humans. For this reason, their health care, including their intestinal microbiota, is considered of considerable importance. However, the canine and feline gut microbiota still represent a largely unexplored research area. In the present work, we profiled the microbiota of 23 feline fecal samples by 16S rRNA gene and bifidobacterial internally transcribed spacer (ITS) approaches and compared this information with previously reported data from 138 canine fecal samples. The obtained data allowed the reconstruction of the core gut microbiota of the above-mentioned samples coupled with their classification into distinct community state types at both genus and species levels, identifying Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, and Prevotella 9 as the main bacterial components of the canine and feline gut microbiota. At the species level, the intestinal bifidobacterial gut communities of dogs and cats differed in terms of both species number and composition, as emphasized by a covariance analysis. Together, our findings show that the intestinal populations of cats and dogs are similar in terms of genus-level taxonomical composition, while at the bifidobacterial species level, clear differences were observed, indicative of host-specific colonization behavior by particular bifidobacterial taxa. IMPORTANCE Currently, domesticated dogs and cats are the most cherished companion animals for humans, and concerns about their health and well-being are therefore important. In this context, the gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining and promoting host health. However, despite the social relevance of domesticated dogs and cats, their intestinal microbial communities are still far from being completely understood. In this study, the taxonomical composition of canine and feline gut microbiota was explored at genus and bifidobacterial species levels, allowing classification of these microbial populations into distinct gut community state types at either of the two investigated taxonomic levels. Furthermore, the reconstruction of core gut microbiota coupled with covariance network analysis based on bifidobacterial internally transcribed spacer (ITS) profiling revealed differences in the bifidobacterial compositions of canine and feline gut microbiota, suggesting that particular bifidobacterial species have developed a selective ability to colonize a specific host.

Catching a glimpse of the bacterial gut community of companion animals: a canine and feline perspective

“…Notably, a metagenomic study revealed that the Coriobacteriaceae family is the main representative of the Actinobacteria phylum, with Collinsella and Slackia as dominant genera in dogs, while Eggerthella and especially Olsenella being prevalent in cats (Handl et al ., 2011). Furthermore, recently, the application of the bifidobacterial ITS microbial profiling method to multiple canine and feline faecal samples revealed the presence of several Bifidobacterium species in each processed sample (Alessandri et al ., 2019a–c, 2020), thus strengthening the notion that bifidobacteria are ubiquitous commensal microorganisms of the intestinal microbial community of mammals, including dogs and cats (Milani et al ., 2017a,b).…”

“…The Clostridia class is represented by Clostridium clusters IV ( Ruminococcaceae family and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii ), XI ( Peptostreptococcaceae family) and XIVa ( Lachnospiraceae family and Blautia ), while the Erysipelotrichi is mainly represented by Turicibacter , Catenibacterium and Coprobacillus genera (Ritchie et al ., 2010; Handl et al ., 2011; Pilla and Suchodolski, 2019). Furthermore, Prevotella and Bacteroides , belonging to the Bacteroidetes phylum, are among the most abundant and prevalent bacterial genera of the faecal microbiota of both companion animals considered here (Alessandri et al ., 2019a–c, 2020).…”

“…Furthermore, Fusobacterium , a genus belonging to the Fusobacteria phylum, was identified as one of the principal microbial players of the canine and feline gut microbiota, though with a lower average relative abundance in cats (Suchodolski et al ., 2008; Alessandri et al ., 2019a–c, 2020). Notably, in humans, Fusobacterium is associated with inflammatory bowel diseases, while the presence of a specific species of this genus in the human intestine, i.e.…”

Multi-population cohort meta-analysis of human intestinal microbiota in early life reveals the existence of infant community state types (ICSTs)

“…Moreover, bacterial genera present in at least 70% of the studies and with a prevalence ranging from 30% to 70% were used to reconstruct the accessory-microbiota ( Tables S6, S7, S8 and S9 ). The cut-off values were chosen based on previous publications [50] , [51] and adapted to the high variability of the infant microbiota. Interestingly, the achieved results revealed that the core-microbiota (taxa with prevalence > 70%) of 0–1 M and 1–6 M groups was mostly represented by the Bifidobacterium genus (average abundance of 38.07% ± 34% and 44.16% ± 29.10%, respectively) ( Fig.…”

A rather dry subject; investigating the study of arid-associated microbial communities

“…Research has often been directed to the intestinal microbiomes of ruminants [147][148][149][150][151][152][153] and other commercially valuable species [154][155][156]. By virtue of ease of access, other studies have tended to be on domesticated species [157], or wild species which can be more conveniently reached and investigated [158].…”