Open AccessAbundance and short‐term temporal variability of fecal microbiota in healthy dogs
Author(s) -
GarciaMazcorro Jose F.,
Dowd Scot E.,
Poulsen Jeffrey,
Steiner Jörg M.,
Suchodolski Jan S.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
microbiologyopen
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.881
H-Index - 36
ISSN - 2045-8827
DOI - 10.1002/mbo3.36
Subject(s) - pyrosequencing , biology , feces , relative species abundance , abundance (ecology) , fluorescence in situ hybridization , veterinary medicine , 16s ribosomal rna , gut flora , zoology , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , bacteria , genetics , medicine , immunology , gene , chromosome
Temporal variations of intestinal microorganisms have been investigated in humans, but limited information is available for other animal species. The aim of the study was to evaluate the abundance and short‐term temporal variability of fecal microbiota in dogs. Two fecal samples were collected (15 days apart) from six healthy dogs. The microbiota was evaluated using fluorescence in situ hybridization ( FISH ) and 454‐pyrosequencing targeting the 16S rRNA and its gene. Pyrosequencing revealed 15 families comprising >80% of all microbiota, over time intraindividual coefficients of variation (%CV) ranged from 2% to 141% (median: 55%). In contrast, the interindividual %CV ranged from 62% to 230% (median: 145%). Relative proportions of F aecalibacterium (important for intestinal health) and S ubdoligranulum were low (two dogs harbored 4–7% of S ubdoligranulum , the remaining dogs had <1% of either genus). Conversely, FISH revealed that F aecalibacterium comprised a median of 5% of total counts (range: 0–8%, probe Fprau645). A novel FISH probe (Faecali 698) was tested that, compared with Fprau645, can detect in silico a similar percentage of F aecalibacterium but higher proportions of S ubdoligranulum . This probe revealed a high percentage of F aecalibacterium– S ubdoligranulum (median: 16% of total counts). Future studies should consider the observed variability and discrepancies in microbial abundance between FISH and 454‐pyrosequencing.