The gut microbiome as a virtual endocrine organ with implications for farm and domestic animal endocrinology

O’Callaghan, Tom F.; Ross, R. Paul; Stanton, Catherine; Clarke, Gerard

doi:10.1016/j.domaniend.2016.05.003

Cited by 40 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…Accumulating evidence indicates that the gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in nutrient metabolism, energy utilization, and health maintenance in domestic animals (O'Callaghan et al, 2016). Accordingly, the gut microbiome is considered to be an essential factor that affects growth of livestock animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Gut Microbiome and Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) on Finishing Weight of Meat Rabbits

Fang

Chen

et al. 2020

Front. Microbiol.

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Understanding how the gut microbiome and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) affect finishing weight is beneficial to improve meat production in the meat rabbit industry. In this study, we identified 15 OTUs and 23 microbial species associated with finishing weight using 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic sequencing analysis, respectively. Among these, butyrate-producing bacteria of the family Ruminococcaceae were positively associated with finishing weight, whereas the microbial taxa related to intestinal damage and inflammation showed opposite effects. Furthermore, interactions of these microbial taxa were firstly found to be associated with finishing weight. Gut microbial functional capacity analysis revealed that CAZymes, such as galactosidase, xylanase, and glucosidase, could significantly affect finishing weight, given their roles in regulating nutrient digestibility. GOs related to the metabolism of several carbohydrates and amino acids also showed important effects on finishing weight. Additionally, both KOs and KEGG pathways related to the membrane transportation system and involved in aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis and butanoate metabolism could act as key factors in modulating finishing weight. Importantly, gut microbiome explained nearly 11% of the variation in finishing weight, and our findings revealed that a subset of metagenomic species could act as predictors of finishing weight. SCFAs levels, especially butyrate level, had critical impacts on finishing weight, and several finishing weight-associated species were potentially contributed to the shift in butyrate level. Thus, our results should give deep insights into how gut microbiome and SCFAs influence finishing weight of meat rabbits and provide essential knowledge for improving finishing weight by manipulating gut microbiome.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Gut Microbiome and Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) on Finishing Weight of Meat Rabbits

Fang

Chen

et al. 2020

Front. Microbiol.

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show abstract

“…The gut microbiome is important for immune response, gastrointestinal tract health, endocrine system functioning, behavior, and even cognitive function in both humans and animals [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In humans, gut dysbiosis has been linked to many conditions, including obesity, autism spectrum disorders, diabetes, colorectal cancer, in ammatory bowel diseases as well as diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria [7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the Equine Hindgut Microbiome in Semi-feral and Domestic Conventionally-Managed Foals

Tavenner

McDonnell

Biddle

2020

Preprint

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Background: Early development of the gut microbiome is an essential part of neonate health in animals. It is unclear whether the acquisition of gut microbes is different between domesticated animals and their wild counterparts. In this study, fecal samples from ten domestic conventionally managed (DCM) Standardbred and ten semi-feral managed (SFM) Shetland-type pony foals and dams were compared using 16S rRNA sequencing to identify differences in the development of the foal hindgut microbiome related to time and management. Results: Gut microbiome diversity of dams was lower than foals overall and within groups, and foals from both groups at Week 1 had less diverse gut microbiomes than subsequent weeks. The core microbiomes of SFM dams and foals had more taxa overall, and greater numbers of taxa within species groups when compared to DCM dams and foals. The gut microbiomes of SFM foals demonstrated enhanced diversity of key groups: Verrucomicrobia (RFP12), Ruminococcaceae, Fusobacterium spp., and Bacteroides spp., based on age and management. Lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus spp. and other Lactobacillaceae genera were enriched only in DCM foals, specifically during their second and third week of life. Predicted microbiome functions estimated computationally suggested that SFM foals had higher mean sequence counts for taxa contributing to the digestion of lipids, simple and complex carbohydrates, and protein. DCM foal microbiomes were more similar to their dams in week five and six than were SFM foals at the same age.Conclusions: This study demonstrates the impact of management on the development of the foal gut microbiome in the first 6 weeks of life. The higher numbers of taxa within and between bacterial groups found in SFM dams and foals suggests more diversity and functional redundancy in their gut microbiomes, which could lend greater stability and resiliency to these communities. The colonization of lactic acid bacteria in the early life of DCM foals suggests enrichment in response to the availability of dams’ feed. Thus, management type is an important driver of gut microbiome establishment on horses, and we may look to semi-feral horses for guidance in defining a healthy gut microbiome for domestic horses.

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“…The gut microbiome is important for immune response, gastrointestinal tract health, endocrine system functioning, behavior, and even cognitive function in both humans and animals [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In humans, gut dysbiosis has been linked to many conditions, including obesity, autism spectrum disorders, diabetes, colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases as well as diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria [7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Horses that are able to continuously graze secrete more saliva, which buffers the acidity of their stomach contents. This acidity is caused by the secretion of gastric fluid as well as fermentation of nonstructural carbohydrates by lactic acid bacteria in the stomach [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the Equine Hindgut Microbiome in Semi-feral and Domestic Conventionally-Managed Foals

Tavenner

McDonnell

Biddle

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Early development of the gut microbiome is an essential part of neonate health in animals. It is unclear whether the acquisition of gut microbes is different between domesticated animals and their wild counterparts. In this study, fecal samples from ten domestic conventionally managed (DCM) Standardbred and ten semi-feral managed (SFM) Shetland-type pony foals and dams were compared using 16S rRNA sequencing to identify differences in the development of the foal hindgut microbiome related to time and management. Results Gut microbiome diversity of dams was higher than foals overall, and foals from both groups at Week 1 had less diverse gut microbiomes than subsequent weeks. The core microbiomes of SFM dams and foals had more taxa overall, and greater numbers of taxa within species groups when compared to DCM dams and foals. The gut microbiomes of SFM foals demonstrated enhanced diversity of key groups: Verrucomicrobia (RFP12), Ruminococcaceae, Fusobacterium spp., and Bacteroides spp., based on age and management. Lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus spp. and Lactobacillaceae gen. were enriched only in DCM foals, specifically during their second and third week of life. Predicted microbiome functions estimated computationally suggested that SFM foals had higher mean sequence counts for taxa contributing to the digestion of lipids, simple and complex carbohydrates, and protein. DCM foal microbiomes were more similar to their dams in week five and six than were SFM foals at the same age. Conclusions This study demonstrates the impact of management on the development of the foal gut microbiome in the first 6 weeks of life. The higher numbers of taxa within and between bacterial groups found in SFM dams and foals suggests more diversity and functional redundancy in their gut microbiomes, which could lend greater stability and resiliency to these communities. The colonization of lactic acid bacteria in the early life of DCM foals suggests enrichment in response to the availability of dams’ feed. Thus, management type is an important driver of gut microbiome establishment on horses, and we may look to semi-feral horses for guidance in defining a healthy gut microbiome for domestic horses.

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The gut microbiome as a virtual endocrine organ with implications for farm and domestic animal endocrinology

Cited by 40 publications

References 151 publications

Effects of Gut Microbiome and Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) on Finishing Weight of Meat Rabbits

Effects of Gut Microbiome and Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) on Finishing Weight of Meat Rabbits

Development of the Equine Hindgut Microbiome in Semi-feral and Domestic Conventionally-Managed Foals

Development of the Equine Hindgut Microbiome in Semi-feral and Domestic Conventionally-Managed Foals

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