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PloS one2020; 15(3); e0230148; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230148

The fecal microbiota of healthy donor horses and geriatric recipients undergoing fecal microbial transplantation for the treatment of diarrhea.

Abstract: Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT), a treatment for certain gastrointestinal conditions associated with dysbiosis in people, is also empirically employed in horses with colitis. This study used microbiota high-throughput sequencing to compare the fecal microbial profile of healthy horses to that of geriatric microbial transplant recipients experiencing diarrhea and tested whether FMT restores microbiota diversity. To evaluate the effect of environment and donor characteristics on the intestinal microbiota, fecal samples were collected per rectum from 15 healthy young-adult (2-12 years) and 15 geriatric (≥20 years) horses. Additionally, FMT was performed for 3 consecutive days in 5 geriatric horses with diarrhea using feces from the same healthy donor. Fecal samples were collected from both donor and recipient prior to each FMT and from recipients 24 hours following the last FMT. The profile of the fecal bacterial microbiota was compared using 16S amplicon sequencing. In contrast to diet and farm location, age did not significantly affect the healthy equine fecal microbiota, indicating that both healthy geriatric and young-adult horses may serve as FMT donors. The fecal microbiota of horses with diarrhea was significantly more variable in terms of β-diversity than that of healthy horses. An inverse correlation between diarrhea score and relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia was identified in surviving FMT recipients. At study completion, the fecal microbiota of horses which responded to FMT had a higher α-diversity than prior to treatment and was phylogenetically more similar to that of the donor.
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Publication Date: 2020-03-10 PubMed ID: 32155205PubMed Central: PMC7064224DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230148Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • N.I.H.
  • Extramural
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  • Non-U.S. Gov't

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.

The research investigated the effect of fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) on horses suffering from diarrhea, looking at microbiota diversity before and after treatment. The researchers determined that age doesn’t significantly affect the healthy fecal microbiota in horses, suggesting both young and geriatric horses could be FMT donors, and found that horses responding to FMT showed improved fecal microbiota diversity.

Study Design and Methods

This study was structured to compare the fecal microbial profile of healthy horses across different ages and geriatric horses experiencing diarrhea. It also aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of FMT in restoring the diversity of the microbiota. To achieve this,

  • Researchers collected rectal fecal samples from 30 horses: 15 healthy horses ranging from 2-12 years and 15 geriatric horses aged 20 years or above.
  • Five geriatric horses with diarrhea received FMT consecutively for three days from the same healthy donor.
  • To examine the FMT’s effect, fecal samples were collected from both donor and recipient before each FMT and from the recipients 24 hours following the last FMT.
  • The fecal bacterial microbiota profile was then assessed using a method called 16S amplicon sequencing.

Results

The results of the study provided valuable insight into the effect of FMT, the factors affecting the healthy equine fecal microbiota, and the state of the microbiota in horses with diarrhea:

  • Unlike diet and farm location, age did not significantly affect the healthy equine fecal microbiota, suggesting healthy horses of any age can be potential donors for FMT.
  • The fecal microbiota of horses with diarrhea was significantly more variable in terms of β-diversity compared to the microbiota of healthy horses.
  • There was an inverse correlation established between diarrhea score and the relative abundance of a typical fecal bacteria called Verrucomicrobia in surviving FMT recipients.
  • At the end of the study, the fecal microbiota of horses which responded to FMT had a higher α-diversity than before the treatment, indicating an improvement in the overall microbial diversity. Moreover, the microbiota was more phylogenetically similar to that of the donor horse.

Conclusion

The research demonstrated the potential of fecal microbial transplantation as a means of treating diarrhea or dysbiosis in horses. By showing increased microbiota diversity and similarity to the donor post-treatment, it implies that FMT can help to restore healthy microbial conditions in the guts of horses suffering from gastrointestinal issues. The results also mitigate concerns about the age of prospective donors, expanding the pool of potential candidates for future FMT procedures.

Cite This Article

APA
McKinney CA, Oliveira BCM, Bedenice D, Paradis MR, Mazan M, Sage S, Sanchez A, Widmer G. (2020). The fecal microbiota of healthy donor horses and geriatric recipients undergoing fecal microbial transplantation for the treatment of diarrhea. PLoS One, 15(3), e0230148. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230148

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 15
Issue: 3
Pages: e0230148
PII: e0230148

Researcher Affiliations

McKinney, Caroline A
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, United States of America.
Oliveira, Bruno C M
  • Department of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, United States of America.
  • Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Araçatuba, Brazil.
Bedenice, Daniela
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, United States of America.
Paradis, Mary-Rose
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, United States of America.
Mazan, Melissa
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, United States of America.
Sage, Sophie
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, United States of America.
Sanchez, Alfredo
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, United States of America.
Widmer, Giovanni
  • Department of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, United States of America.

MeSH Terms

  • Age Factors
  • Animals
  • Colitis / therapy
  • Colitis / veterinary
  • Diarrhea / therapy
  • Diarrhea / veterinary
  • Dysbiosis / therapy
  • Fecal Microbiota Transplantation / methods
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / genetics
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / methods
  • Horses / microbiology
  • Microbiota
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Tissue Donors
  • Treatment Outcome

Grant Funding

  • R21 AI125891 / NIAID NIH HHS

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

This article includes 43 references

Citations

This article has been cited 30 times.
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