Development of the faecal microbiota in foals.

The research article presents a longitudinal study on the development of intestinal bacteria in newborn foals up to 9 months of age. It highlights how the foal’s gut microbiota evolves over time and eventually starts resembling that of a mature mare, although distinct differences remain.

Research Objective and Methods

• The study aimed to investigate the pattern of bacterial colonisation in the intestines of newborn foals and to observe its development until the foals were 9 months old.
• A total of eleven pregnant mares were enrolled in the research from a single farm.
• Faecal samples were collected from the mares and their foals, starting from their first day postpartum and then periodically until foals reached the age of 9 months.
• The V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene found in the samples was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform, a widely-used next-generation sequencing technology. This helped identify and characterize the bacteria present in the samples.

Study Findings

• Immediately after birth, foals were found to have a rich and diverse bacterial community in their guts, largely comprised of the Firmicutes phylum.
• There was a significant decrease in microbial diversity for foals aged between 2-30 days. The majority of organisms in their guts during this period were classified as Akkermansia spp.
• After 60 days of life, the structure of foals’ intestinal microbiota started to stabilize, gradually exhibiting similarities to those of mature mares.
• Even so, differences in microbial community membership between 9-month-old foals and mature mares were still evident.
• Foals older than 60 days showed a notably higher abundance of Fibrobacteres, especially after weaning.

Conclusions

• The intestinal microbiota of newborn foals was found to be complex from their first day of life.
• Adaptation of the microbiota occurs during the first month of life – this is evidenced by the noticeable shift in microbial diversity.
• The gut microbiota of foals older than 60 days begins to resemble that of their mothers, signifying the maturation of equine microbiota over time. Nevertheless, distinct differences in community membership persist, indicating individual microbiota variations.