Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Engineering, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Dairy Products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, P. R. China.
Food Funct. 2019 May 22;10(5):2618-2629. doi: 10.1039/c9fo00087a.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of probiotics on the composition and function of the gut microbiota in dogs with diarrhoea. Forty dogs with diarrhoea were randomly allocated to the treatment group or control group. Probiotics, containing Lactobacillus casei Zhang, Lactobacillus plantarum P-8, and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis V9, were only fed to 20 treated dogs for 60 days. The faecal samples of all dogs at day 0 and day 60 were analyzed using a metagenomic approach. The results showed a significantly higher microbial diversity and an obvious change in the structure of the gut microbiota in the treatment group. There was also an increase in the abundance of some beneficial bacteria in differently aged dogs, such as Lactobacillus johnsonii (P < 0.05), Lactobacillus reuteri (P < 0.01), Lactobacillus acidophilus (P < 0.05) and Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum (P < 0.05), and a reduction in the abundance of many opportunistic pathogenic bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens (P < 0.05) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (P < 0.05) with the supplementation of probiotics. Intriguingly, the correlated networks among some pathogenic bacteria decreased following the administration of probiotics. Additionally, metagenomic analysis revealed the upregulation of pathways involved in the metabolism of amino acids and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, accompanied by the downregulation of pathways associated with virulence of pathogenic bacteria and cell signaling, suggesting that probiotics could improve the health of dogs with diarrhoea through regulation of the gut microbiota. Our research provides new information relevant to the treatment of diarrhoea in animals and humans.
本研究旨在评估益生菌对腹泻犬肠道微生物群组成和功能的影响。将 40 只腹泻犬随机分为治疗组和对照组。仅给 20 只治疗犬喂食含有干酪乳杆菌 Zhang、植物乳杆菌 P-8 和动物双歧杆菌亚种 lactis V9 的益生菌 60 天。所有犬在第 0 天和第 60 天的粪便样本均采用宏基因组学方法进行分析。结果表明，治疗组的微生物多样性显著提高，肠道微生物群结构明显改变。不同年龄犬中一些有益菌的丰度也有所增加，如约翰逊乳杆菌（P < 0.05）、雷特氏乳杆菌（P < 0.01）、嗜酸乳杆菌（P < 0.05）和普利氏丁酸球菌（P < 0.05），而一些机会致病菌如产气荚膜梭菌（P < 0.05）和嗜麦芽窄食单胞菌（P < 0.05）的丰度则降低。有趣的是，益生菌补充后，一些致病菌之间的相关网络减少。此外，宏基因组学分析表明，与氨基酸代谢和次生代谢物生物合成相关的途径上调，同时与致病菌毒力和细胞信号转导相关的途径下调，这表明益生菌可通过调节肠道微生物群来改善腹泻犬的健康状况。我们的研究为动物和人类腹泻的治疗提供了新的信息。
