The Effect of Artificial Rearing on Gut Microbiota in a Mouse Pup-in-a-Cup Model

Zeng, Benhua; Yuan, Jing; Li, Wenxia; Tang, Huan; Wei, Hong

doi:10.1538/expanim.61.453

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“… 2012 ; Zeng et al. 2012 ). These observations can be explained by the fact that milk, even when collected aseptically, is a source of bacteria that can colonize the gut of the pups (Ward et al.…”

Section: Variables That Affect Gut Microbiota Composition Related To mentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneity of the gut microbiome in mice: guidelines for optimizing experimental design

Laukens

Brinkman

Raes

et al. 2015

FEMS Microbiology Reviews

322

266

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Targeted manipulation of the gut flora is increasingly being recognized as a means to improve human health. Yet, the temporal dynamics and intra- and interindividual heterogeneity of the microbiome represent experimental limitations, especially in human cross-sectional studies. Therefore, rodent models represent an invaluable tool to study the host–microbiota interface. Progress in technical and computational tools to investigate the composition and function of the microbiome has opened a new era of research and we gradually begin to understand the parameters that influence variation of host-associated microbial communities. To isolate true effects from confounding factors, it is essential to include such parameters in model intervention studies. Also, explicit journal instructions to include essential information on animal experiments are mandatory. The purpose of this review is to summarize the factors that influence microbiota composition in mice and to provide guidelines to improve the reproducibility of animal experiments.

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Section: Variables That Affect Gut Microbiota Composition Related To mentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneity of the gut microbiome in mice: guidelines for optimizing experimental design

Laukens

Brinkman

Raes

et al. 2015

FEMS Microbiology Reviews

322

266

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, extrapolating data from laboratory animals to other species (including humans) has limitations, for example, similarities in microbiota between rodents and humans are reduced beyond the phyla level (Spor et al, 2011;Nguyen et al, 2015). In addition, laboratory animals have a highly inbred genetic background (Hufeldt et al, 2010), and are exposed to very different conditions to those experienced by humans and wild animals, but which influence microbiota, for example, captive rearing (Zeng et al, 2012), and constant extrinsic factors such as diet and housing conditions (Le Floc'h et al, 2014). Indeed, the disparity between laboratory animals and humans is believed to be a major contributing factor towards 'attrition', whereby drug trials are successful in laboratory animals but later fail in human trials (Garner, 2014), and this same lack of successful forward translation is also likely to occur in microbiota research.…”

Section: What Is Driving Animal Microbiota Studies?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Network analysis of gut microbiota literature: an overview of the research landscape in non-human animal studies

et al. 2017

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A wealth of human studies have demonstrated the importance of gut microbiota to health. Research on non-human animal gut microbiota is now increasing, but what insight does it provide? We reviewed 650 publications from this burgeoning field (2009-2016) and determined that animals driving this research were predominantly 'domestic' (48.2%), followed by 'model' (37.5%), with least studies on 'wild' (14.3%) animals. Domestic studies largely experimentally perturbed microbiota (81.8%) and studied mammals (47.9%), often to improve animal productivity. Perturbation was also frequently applied to model animals (87.7%), mainly mammals (88.1%), for forward translation of outcomes to human health. In contrast, wild animals largely characterised natural, unperturbed microbiota (79.6%), particularly in pest or pathogen vectoring insects (42.5%). We used network analyses to compare the research foci of each animal group: 'diet' was the main focus in all three, but to different ends: to enhance animal production (domestic), to study non-infectious diseases (model), or to understand microbiota composition (wild). Network metrics quantified model animal studies as the most interdisciplinary, while wild animals incorporated the fewest disciplines. Overall, animal studies, especially model and domestic, cover a broad array of research. Wild animals, however, are the least investigated, but offer under-exploited opportunities to study 'real-life' microbiota.

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“…Despite this rapid progress in understanding the role of the gut microbiome in health and disease, limitations exist in the ability to study such connections in collection and data analysis [ 5 ]. Studies of artificially reared mice showed significant variations in gut microbiome composition when compared to maternally reared mice [ 14 ]. Further, concern has been raised regarding the poor correlation that exists between the fecal and cecal microbiota profiles, indicating the difficulty in obtaining an accurate sample of laboratory animal gut microbiomes [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Ethanol and Saccharin on Fecal Microbiome in Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Mice

Labrecque

Malone

Allan

2015

J Preg Child Health

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Research identifying connections between the gastrointestinal flora and human health has developed at a rapid pace. Several studies link the gut microbiome to a variety of biological functions beyond the gastrointestinal tract. Changes in our diets, including the consumption of artificial sweeteners, have profound effects on the composition of the gut microbiome and can, in turn, affect brain function, glucose tolerance, and inflammation. Sweeteners are often used to encourage consumption of agents such as ethanol and nicotine in laboratory studies using rodents. Studies aiming to examine the effects of agents like ethanol on the developing nervous system administer these agents during pregnancy. To date, there have been no studies exploring the impact of the combination of dietary ethanol and saccharin during pregnancy on the gut microbiome in either humans or laboratory animal models. In the study presented, we evaluated the impact of ethanol in either water or saccharin on the fecal microbiome in pregnant and non-pregnant mice using a qPCR approach. We found that the combination of ethanol and saccharin produced different effects than ethanol in water, depending on pregnancy status. Levels of Clostridium were reduced in ethanol-saccharin but not ethanol-water drinking mice, even though the total levels of ethanol consumed were the same for the two groups. Eubacteria were increased in the pregnant, but decreased in the non-pregnant, ethanol-saccharin drinking group. These treatment and pregnancy specific changes could impact the development of the offspring. In developing and quality checking our primer sets for these studies we identified several problems within previous research in the field. The technical drawbacks in previous studies, as well as our own study, are discussed. Despite some progress in the ability to study the gut microbiome, more advances and standardization of practices should be established to improve the reliability and validity of microbiome research.

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The Effect of Artificial Rearing on Gut Microbiota in a Mouse Pup-in-a-Cup Model

Cited by 7 publications

References 24 publications

Heterogeneity of the gut microbiome in mice: guidelines for optimizing experimental design

Heterogeneity of the gut microbiome in mice: guidelines for optimizing experimental design

Network analysis of gut microbiota literature: an overview of the research landscape in non-human animal studies

Impact of Ethanol and Saccharin on Fecal Microbiome in Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Mice

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