Voluntary and forced exercise differentially alters the gut microbiome in C57BL/6J mice

Abstract

We have previously shown that voluntary wheel running (VWR) attenuates, whereas forced treadmill running (FTR) exacerbates, intestinal inflammation and clinical outcomes in a mouse model of colitis. As the gut microbiome is implicated in colitis, we hypothesized that VWR and FTR would differentially affect the gut microbiome. Mice (9-10/treatment) were randomly assigned to VWR, FTR, or sedentary home cage control (SED) for 6 wk. VWR were given running wheel access, whereas FTR ran on a treadmill for 40 min/day at 8-12 m/min, 5% grade. Forty-eight hours after the last exercise session, DNA was isolated from the fecal pellets and cecal contents, and the conserved bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina Miseq platform. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance based on weighted UniFrac distance matrix revealed different bacterial clusters between feces and cecal contents in all groups (P < 0.01). Interestingly, the community structures of the three treatment groups clustered separately from each other in both gut regions (P < 0.05). Contrary to our hypothesis, the α-diversity metric, Chao1, indicated that VWR led to reduced bacterial richness compared with FTR or SED (P < 0.05). Taxonomic evaluation revealed that both VWR and FTR altered many individual bacterial taxa. Of particular interest, Turicibacter spp., which has been strongly associated with immune function and bowel disease, was significantly lower in VWR vs. SED/FTR. These data indicate that VWR and FTR differentially alter the intestinal microbiome of mice. These effects were observed in both the feces and cecum despite vastly different community structures between each intestinal region.

Altered gut microbiota by voluntary exercise induces high physical activity in high-fat diet mice

“…In contrast, Bifidobacteriales was slightly, but significantly reduced by the wheel running (p < 0.01). Recently, several studies have reported the effects of exercise on the gut microbiota in humans 11) and in animal models 4) . Thus, it can be seen that voluntary exercise partially, but significantly induces changes in the gut microbiota.…”

“…In addition, recent studies investigating the effects of physical exercise in experimental animal models have shown that it might induce changes in the gut microbiota [2][3][4] .…”

Gut microbiota are linked to increased susceptibility to hepatic steatosis in low-aerobic-capacity rats fed an acute high-fat diet

“…Several studies using both humans and rodent models have shown that exercise influences both cecal and fecal species richness and modulates bacterial phyla genera that are strongly associated with gastrointestinal immune function and leanness (1,11,36); however, the mechanisms are not fully understood. Our unweighted PCoA plot indicates that differing levels of intrinsic aerobic fitness results in changes in cecal beta-diversity, which is consistent with previous studies in ovarectomized and exer- cised HCR and LCR rats (13,31).…”

Exercise training response heterogeneity: physiological and molecular insights

“…The gut microbiome and its influence on host behaviour, intestinal barrier and immune function are believed to be a critical aspect of the brain-gut axis [47]. While the influence of the gut microbiome on exercise non-response is currently untested in humans, recent evidence in murine models shows that there is a strong correlation between physical and emotional stress during exercise and changes in gastrointestinal microbiota composition [48]. This is an exciting field, ripe with opportunities for investigating the influence of the gut microbiome on the exercise non-response.…”