PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Gut bacterial communities have a profound influence on the health of humans and animals. Early-life gut microbial community structure influences the development of immunological competence and susceptibility to disease. For the Thoroughbred racehorse, the significance of early-life microbial colonisation events on subsequent health and athletic performance is unknown. Here we present data from a three-year cohort study of horses bred for racing designed to explore interactions between early-life gut bacterial community structure, health events in later life and athletic performance on the racetrack. Our data show that gut bacterial community structure in the first months of life predicts the risk of specific diseases and athletic performance up to three years old. Foals with lower faecal bacterial diversity at one month old had a significantly increased risk of respiratory disease in later life which was also associated with higher relative abundance of faecal Pseudomonadaceae. Surprisingly, athletic performance up to three years old, measured by three different metrics, was positively associated with higher faecal bacterial diversity at one month old and with the relative abundance of specific bacterial families. We also present data on the impact of antibiotic exposure of foals during the first month of life. This resulted in significantly lower faecal bacterial diversity at 28 days old, a significantly increased risk of respiratory disease in later life and a significant reduction in average prize money earnings, a proxy for athletic performance. Our study reveals associations between early-life bacterial community profiles and health events in later life and it provides evidence of the detrimental impact of antimicrobial treatment in the first month of life on health and performance outcomes in later life. For the first time, this study demonstrates a relationship between early-life gut bacterial communities and subsequent athletic performance that has implications for athletes of all species including humans.
摘要：
肠道细菌群落对人类和动物的健康有着深远的影响。早期肠道微生物群落结构影响免疫能力和疾病易感性的发展。对于纯种赛马来说，早期微生物定植事件对随后的健康和运动表现的意义尚不清楚.在这里，我们提供了一项为期三年的队列研究的数据，这些研究旨在探索早期肠道细菌群落结构之间的相互作用，以后的生活中的健康事件和赛道上的运动表现。我们的数据表明，生命最初几个月的肠道细菌群落结构可预测特定疾病和运动表现的风险，直至三岁。一个月大时粪便细菌多样性较低的马驹在以后的生活中患呼吸道疾病的风险显着增加，这也与粪便假单胞菌科的相对丰度较高有关。令人惊讶的是,运动表现到三岁，由三个不同的指标衡量，与一个月大时较高的粪便细菌多样性以及特定细菌家族的相对丰度呈正相关。我们还提供了有关在生命的第一个月中接触抗生素对小马驹的影响的数据。这导致28天龄时粪便细菌多样性显著降低，在以后的生活中，患呼吸系统疾病的风险显着增加，平均奖金收入显着减少，运动表现的代表。我们的研究揭示了早期细菌群落概况与晚年健康事件之间的关联，并提供了在生命的第一个月抗菌治疗对晚年健康和表现结果的有害影响的证据。第一次,这项研究证明了早期肠道细菌群落与随后的运动表现之间的关系，这对包括人类在内的所有物种的运动员都有影响。
