Abstract:
There is growing evidence that a relationship exists between mental and emotional wellbeing and the gut microbiota. Little is known regarding how the microbiota reacts to repeated acute stress events in dogs, and whether it is a predictor of stress response. In this study, we explored the impact on the gut microbiota and digestive health with two common events many pet dogs find stressful. Twenty healthy adult dogs, living within a colony, were exposed to either car travel or separation three times across eight-week intervals. Faecal samples were collected 24 h before, within 24 h, and 24-48 h after. Faecal quality and pH, and microbiota diversity and composition were analysed in context with wider published work on physiological stress measures. No significant changes were observed in faecal quality or pH with either stress event at any timepoint, indicating all pets remained in good digestive health. Microbiota analysis demonstrated no significant impact on alpha or beta diversity with either stressor. Microbial signatures previously linked to stress were not identified in these dogs and no changes were observed in the functional gut composition. Irrespective of whether the pet was considered \"stressed\" (i.e., exhibited an increase in serum cortisol), there was no effect on the microbiota and no taxa were predictive of stress response. Collectively, this work demonstrates, for this population, certain acute stress events have no meaningful impact on the canine gut microbiota, and it has no impact on the associated stress response.
摘要:
越来越多的证据表明,精神和情绪健康与肠道微生物群之间存在关系。关于微生物群对狗反复发生的急性应激事件的反应知之甚少。以及它是否是应激反应的预测因子。在这项研究中,我们探讨了对肠道微生物群和消化系统健康的影响,这两个常见事件许多宠物狗感到压力。二十只健康的成年狗,生活在一个殖民地,在八周的间隔中暴露于汽车旅行或分离中三次。粪便样本收集24小时前,在24小时内,和24-48小时后。粪便质量和pH值,在更广泛的已发表的有关生理应激措施的工作背景下,对微生物群多样性和组成进行了分析。在任何时间点,粪便质量或pH值均未出现明显变化,表明所有宠物保持良好的消化健康。微生物群分析表明,两种应激源对α或β多样性均无重大影响。在这些狗中没有鉴定出先前与应激相关的微生物特征,并且在功能性肠道组成中没有观察到变化。无论宠物是否被认为是“强调”(即,表现出血清皮质醇的增加),对微生物群没有影响,没有分类群可以预测应激反应。总的来说,这项工作表明,对于这个人口来说,某些急性应激事件对犬肠道菌群没有有意义的影响,它对相关的应激反应没有影响。