Effect of Sugar Beet Pulp on the Composition and Predicted Function of Equine Fecal Microbiota.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the partial replacement of dietary hay with sugar beet pulp (SBP) on the composition and predicted function of the fecal microbiota of healthy adult horses. Fecal samples were collected daily for 12 days from six adult horses after removal from pasture, including a five-day acclimation period, and a seven-day period following the introduction of SBP into their diet, and compared to six untreated horses over a comparable period. Fecal DNA was subjected to 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and a longitudinal analysis was performed comparing the composition and predicted function. While no significant treatment-associated changes in the richness, alpha diversity, or beta diversity were detected, random forest regression identified several high-importance taxonomic features associated with change over time in horses receiving SBP. A similar analysis of the predicted functional pathways identified several high-importance pathways, including those involved in the production of L-methionine and butyrate. These data suggest that feeding SBP to healthy adult horses acutely increases the relative abundance of several Gram-positive taxa, including sp., sp., and sp., and mitigates the predicted functional changes associated with removal from pasture. Large-scale studies are needed to assess the protective effect of SBP on the incidence of the gastrointestinal conditions of horses.
Publication Date: 2023-09-19 PubMed ID: 37759653PubMed Central: PMC10525916DOI: 10.3390/biology12091254Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
This study investigates the impact of replacing some of the hay in a horse’s diet with sugar beet pulp on the composition and function of the horse’s gut bacteria. The study found that this dietary change increases the presence of certain beneficial bacteria and may lead to functional changes in the horse’s gut that could help protect against some gastrointestinal conditions.
Study Overview and Methodology
- The researchers intended to understand how changing feed from hay to sugar beet pulp (SBP) impacts the composition and functional ability of gut bacteria in healthy adult horses.
- They collected fecal samples from a group of horses over a 12-day period after they were taken off pasture. This included five days for the horses to acclimatize to this environment and seven days after integrating SBP into their diet.
- A longitudinal analysis was then conducted on the samples, comparing changes over time in the bacteria present and their predicted functions.
- A parallel experiment studied a control group of horses that were not given SBP, to see how their gut microbiota changed over the same period for comparison.
Key Findings
- The researchers did not discover any significant changes to the richness or diversity of bacteria due to the addition of SBP.
- However, they did identify a number of taxonomic characteristics among the microbiota that did show changes over time in the horses that were given SBP. This was found using a machine learning technique known as random forest regression.
- The study also predicted several functional pathways that were highly important, such as those involved in creating L-methionine and butyrate, two essential nutrients.
- The introduction of SBP appears to increase the relative abundance of several Gram-positive bacteria types.
- The addition of SBP also seems to buffer against some changes to the gut microbiota that occur when horses are taken off pasture.
Implications and Further Research
- The study’s findings suggest that adding SBP to a horse’s diet could potentially protect against some gastrointestinal conditions. However, further larger-scale studies are required to substantiate these initial findings.
- The researchers believe that their study provides a foundation for understanding how feed changes can impact horse gut health, which can then be strategically applied to improve horse health and prevent disease.
Cite This Article
APA
Ford T, McAdams ZL, Townsend KS, Martin LM, Johnson PJ, Ericsson AC.
(2023).
Effect of Sugar Beet Pulp on the Composition and Predicted Function of Equine Fecal Microbiota.
Biology (Basel), 12(9), 1254.
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12091254 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
- Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapeutics (MPT) Program, University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65201, USA.
- College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
- College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
- College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
- College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
- Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapeutics (MPT) Program, University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65201, USA.
- MU Metagenomics Center, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO 65201, USA.
Grant Funding
- T32 GM008396 / NIGMS NIH HHS
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.
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