Department of Research and Development, Mjbiogen Corp, Seoul, 04788, Republic of Korea.
Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnologies, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.
Vet Res Commun. 2023 Sep;47(3):1629-1640. doi: 10.1007/s11259-023-10116-y. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
The effects of probiotics supplementation on the reproductive function have been evaluated in many species, but no study has evaluated the changes in the gut microbiome along with the sperm quality changes simultaneously. This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with probiotics on the gut microbiome, sperm quality and gene expression, along with possible correlations between these parameters in dogs. The dogs were supplemented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus for six weeks, and fecal and semen samples were collected at 0, 3, and 6 weeks. Fecal samples were assessed using 16S Metagenomic Sequencing for gut microbiome analysis; and semen samples were analyzed using computer-assisted sperm analysis, DNA and acrosome integrity assessment, viability and morphology assessment, and real-time PCR. The analyses suggested that probiotic supplementation improved kinematic parameters, viability, DNA and acrosome integrity, and morphology of sperms. The mRNA levels of genes associated with fertility, DNA repair and integrity, and antioxidation were also upregulated. The sperm parameters were positively correlated with the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Allobaculum, Phascolarctobacterium and Catenibacterium, and negatively correlated with Faecalibacterium and Streptococcus. Taken together, the sperm quality enhancement through the gut-testis axis may be due to a change in the gut microorganisms populations.
益生菌补充剂对生殖功能的影响已在许多物种中得到评估，但尚无研究同时评估肠道微生物组的变化与精子质量变化。本研究评估了益生菌饮食补充对肠道微生物组、精子质量和基因表达的影响，以及狗体内这些参数之间可能存在的相关性。狗被补充了鼠李糖乳杆菌六周，在 0、3 和 6 周时收集粪便和精液样本。使用 16S 宏基因组测序对粪便样本进行肠道微生物组分析；使用计算机辅助精子分析、DNA 和顶体完整性评估、活力和形态评估以及实时 PCR 对精液样本进行分析。分析表明，益生菌补充剂改善了精子的运动学参数、活力、DNA 和顶体完整性以及形态。与生育能力、DNA 修复和完整性以及抗氧化相关的基因的 mRNA 水平也上调了。精子参数与厚壁菌门、Allobaculum、Phascolarctobacterium 和 Catenibacterium 的相对丰度呈正相关，与 Faecalibacterium 和 Streptococcus 呈负相关。总之，通过肠道-睾丸轴提高精子质量可能是由于肠道微生物群的变化。
