scholarly journals Interactions between Teladorsagia circumcincta Infections and Microbial Composition of Sheep with or without Successful Monepantel Treatment—A Preliminary Study

Ruminants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-45
Author(s):  
Craig A. Watkins ◽  
Dave J. Bartley ◽  
Burcu Gündüz Ergün ◽  
Büşra Yıldızhan ◽  
Tracy Ross-Watt ◽  
...  

Nematodes are one of the main impactors on the health, welfare and productivity of farmed animals. Teladorsagia circumcincta are endemic throughout many sheep-producing countries, particularly in the northern hemisphere, and contribute to the pathology and economic losses seen on many farms. Control of these nematode infections is essential and heavily reliant on chemotherapy (anthelmintics), but this has been compromised by the development of anthelmintic resistance. In mammals, the composition of the intestinal microbiota has been shown to have a significant effect on overall health. The interactions between host, microbiota and pathogens are complex and influenced by numerous factors. In this study, comparisons between intestinal and faecal microbiota of sheep infected with sensitive or resistant strains of T. circumcincta, with or without monepantel administration were assessed. The findings from both faecal samples and terminal ileum mucosal scrapings showed clear differences between successfully treated animals and those sheep that were left untreated and/or those carrying resistant nematodes. Specifically, the potentially beneficial genus Bifidobacterium was identified as elevated in successfully treated animals. The detection of these and other biomarkers will provide the basis for new therapeutic reagents particularly relevant to the problems of emerging multidrug anthelmintic resistance.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig A. Watkins ◽  
Dave J. Bartley ◽  
Burcu Gündüz Ergün ◽  
Büşra Yıldızhan ◽  
Tracy Ross-Watt ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTNematodes are one of the main impactors on health, welfare and productivity of farmed animals. Teladorsagia circumcincta is arguably one of the most globally important nematode species in sheep. Control of these nematode infections is essential and heavily reliant on chemotherapy (anthelmintics), but this has been complicated by the development of anthelmintic resistance. In mammals the composition of the intestinal microbiota has been shown to have a significant effect on overall health. The interactions between host, microbiota and pathogens are complex and influenced by numerous factors. In this study, the interactions between T. circumcincta infections and microbial composition and abundance were investigated. In a preliminary study the intra-and inter-individual diversity and composition of the microbiota of grazing sheep was assessed in two distinct regions of the ovine intestinal tract, the terminal ileum (TI) and rectal contents. Additionally, the effects of experimental infection of sheep with two strains of T. circumcincta (anthelmintic resistant or sensitive) on the microbiota were assessed with and without anthelmintic (monepantel) administration. The inter-animal variability was greater in the TI compared to the rectal samples. However, the alpha-diversity (species richness) was significantly lower in the TI samples. In the experimental study, clear differences were observed between successfully treated animals and those sheep that were left untreated and/or those carrying resistant nematodes. Differences in microbiota between the four different experimental conditions were observed and potential predictive biomarkers were identified. In particular, a restoration of potentially beneficial Bifidobacteria sp. in successfully-treated animals was observed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S649-S649
Author(s):  
G Seong ◽  
J H Song ◽  
J Shin ◽  
S M Kong ◽  
E R Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Background This study investigated changes in the intestinal microbiota during 8-week infliximab maintenance therapy in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients with clinical remission. Microbial compositional differences were analysed according to the trough level of infliximab (TLI) and mucosal healing (MH) status. Methods 16S rRNA gene-based microbiome profiling was performed on 10 and 74 faecal samples from 10 healthy volunteers and 40 adult IBD patients, respectively. All enrolled IBD patients were in clinical remission during infliximab maintenance therapy. To identify changes in the intestinal microbiota, faecal sampling occurred at 1–2 weeks (1W) and 7–8 weeks (7W) after infliximab infusion. TLI was measured by ELISA at 8 weeks immediately before the subsequent infusion; MH was evaluated by endoscopy within 3 months. Results No significant differences were found in microbial composition, species richness, and diversity indices between 1W and 7W samples or in microbial composition and diversity between healthy volunteer and 1W or 7W samples. However, 7W faecal samples from the patients with TLI≥5 μg/ml showed increased species richness compared with TLI<5 μg/ml, and patients with MH showed increased species diversity compared with non-MH. Beta-diversity analysis showed clustering between samples in the MH and non-MH groups. LefSe analysis identified differential expression of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii group between TLI < 5 μg/ml and TLI ≥ 5 μg/ml and MH and non-MH groups. Conclusion There were no significant changes in the intestinal microbiota during an 8-week infliximab infusion cycle in IBD patients with clinical remission; however, microbial composition, species richness, and diversity were associated with TLI and MH status.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1363
Author(s):  
Julia Hankel ◽  
Amr Abd El-Wahab ◽  
Richard Grone ◽  
Birgit Keller ◽  
Eric Galvez ◽  
...  

Anthropomorphism of dogs has affected feeding and the choice of components present in diets for dogs. Conflicting trends are present: raw or vegetarian appear more prevalent. Animal-derived proteins seem to have unfavourable impacts on intestinal microflora by decreasing the presence of Bacteroidetes. This preliminary study evaluates whether effects of diets with animal proteins on intestinal microbiota can be compensated by the addition of certain carbohydrates to dog diet. Eight female beagles were included in a cross-over study and fed a vegetarian diet or the same diet supplemented with feather meal (2.7%) and either 20% of cornmeal, fermented or non-fermented rye (moisture content of the diets about 42%). A 16S rRNA gene amplification was performed within the hypervariable region V4 on faecal samples and sequenced with the Illumina MiSeq platform. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio tended to shift to the advantage of Firmicutes when feather meal and cornmeal were added (Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio of 5.12 compared to 2.47 when offered the vegetarian diet) and tended to switch back to the advantage of Bacteroidetes if rye: fermented (2.17) or not (1.03) was added. The addition of rye might have the potential to compensate possible unfavourable effects of diets with animal proteins on intestinal microbiota of dogs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Bull ◽  
Gareth Davies ◽  
Timothy Patrick Jenkins ◽  
Laura Elizabeth Peachey

Abstract BackgroundChanges to the gut microbiota are associated with an increased incidence of disease in many species. This is particularly important during the process of domestication, where captive animals commonly suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) pathology. Horses are a prime example of a species which suffers from a high incidence of (often life-threatening) GI diseases in domesticated environments. We aimed to indentify the gut microbial changes which occur due to domestication in horses by profiling the faecal microbiota of adult female Exmoor ponies under three management conditions, representing increasing levels of domestication.MethodsFaecal samples were collected from 29 adult female Exmoor ponies in the South West of the UK; ponies were categorised as Feral (n=10), Semi-Feral (n=10) and Domesticated (n=9), based on their management conditions; thus controlling for age, gender and random effects between groups. Diet and medication were recorded and faecal samples taken to assess parasite infection. Faecal microbial composition was profiled via high-throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene.ResultsDownstream biostatistical analysis indicated profound step-wise changes in global microbial community structure in the transition from Feral to Semi-Feral to Domesticated groups. A relatively high abundance of members of the phylum Proteobacteria and Tenericutes were associated with the Domesticated group; and higher levels of Methanobacteria were seen in the Feral group. The Semi-Feral group frequently had intermediate levels of these taxa; however, they also exhibited the greatest ‘within group’ variation in bacterial diversity and parasites burdens. Functional predictions revealed increased amino acid and lipid metabolism in the Domesticated group and increased energy metabolism in the Feral group; supporting a hypothesis that differences in diet was the key driver of gut microbial composition. ConclusionsIf assumed the Feral population has a more natural gut microbial phenotype, akin to that with which horses have evolved, these data can potentially be used to provide microbial signitures of balanced gut homeostasis in horses; which, in turn, will aid prevention of GI disease in domesticated horses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Umanets ◽  
Annemieke Dinkla ◽  
Stephanie Vastenhouw ◽  
Lars Ravesloot ◽  
Ad P. Koets

Abstract Background Bovine paratuberculosis is a devastating infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). The development of the paratuberculosis in cattle can take up to a few years and vastly differs between individuals in severity of the clinical symptoms and shedding of the pathogen. Timely identification of high shedding animals is essential for paratuberculosis control and minimization of economic losses. Widely used methods for detection and quantification of MAP, such as culturing and PCR based techniques rely on direct presence of the pathogen in a sample and have little to no predictive value concerning the disease development. In the current study, we investigated the possibility of predicting MAP shedding severity in cattle based on the faecal microbiota composition. Twenty calves were experimentally infected with MAP and faecal samples were collected biweekly up to four years of age. All collected samples were subjected to culturing on selective media to obtain data about shedding severity. Faecal microbiota was profiled in a subset of samples (n = 264). Using faecal microbiota composition and shedding intensity data a random forest classifier was built for prediction of the shedding status of the individual animals. Results The results indicate that machine learning approaches applied to microbial composition can be used to classify cows into groups by severity of MAP shedding. The classification accuracy correlates with the age of the animals and use of samples from older individuals resulted in a higher classification precision. The classification model based on samples from the first 12 months of life showed an AUC between 0.78 and 0.79 (95% CI), while the model based on samples from animals older than 24 months showed an AUC between 0.91 and 0.92 (95% CI). Prediction for samples from animals between 12 and 24 month of age showed intermediate accuracy [AUC between 0.86 and 0.87 (95% CI)]. In addition, the results indicate that a limited number of microbial taxa were important for classification and could be considered as biomarkers. Conclusions The study provides evidence for the link between microbiota composition and severity of MAP infection and shedding, as well as lays ground for the development of predictive diagnostic tools based on the faecal microbiota composition.


2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weijiang Zheng ◽  
Xun Zhang ◽  
Wen Yao

Equol is an end metabolite of daidzein produced by the intestinal microbiota, exhibiting stronger antioxidant and estrogenic activities. It has been proposed that the beneficial effects of soybean/phytoestrogens may be dependent on the intestinal equol-producing ability, i.e. the equol hypothesis. The ‘equol hypothesis’ has been well applied to human clinical studies. However, the information of equol-producing ability in sows is quite limited. In this study, the individual differences and correlation between equol excretion and intestinal microbiota in large white sows were assayed. The results showed faecal equol levels of 0.14–17.85 μg/g (coefficient of variation: 61.22%) and urinary equol levels of 0.53–8.19 μg/mL (coefficient of variation: 54.72%). The levels of equol and daidzein correlated positively in both urine and faeces (P < 0.05). The levels of daidzein and ratio of equol : daidzein in both faeces and urine were significantly higher than equol status (P < 0.01). Cluster analysis of denatured gradient gel electrophoresis patterns showed that faecal samples with similar equol concentrations had similar microbial composition. The Shannon diversity and bands number in gel was significant negatively correlative with faecal equol status (P < 0.001). The population of total bacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes correlated negatively with faecal equol production (P < 0.05). Positive correlations were found between urinary equol production and the population of bacteroidetes and methanogen-producing bacteria (P < 0.05), demonstrating for the first time the relationship between equol excretions and gut interspecies H2 transfer in sows.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia Oliver ◽  
Sara Ramió-Pujol ◽  
Joan Amoedo ◽  
Marta Malagón ◽  
Marta Serrano ◽  
...  

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients have different faecal microbiota profiles compared to healthy controls. Prebiotics intake influences intestinal microbiota composition which in turn influence the growth of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) producing bacteria. This study aimed to evaluate the capacity of Previpect, a new prebiotic obtained from grapes fibre, to balance the dysbiosis found in patients with intestinal disorders. This was achieved through the analysis of specific bacterial markers and SCFA production using an in vitro fermentation system and comparing the obtained results with those obtained with other commercial prebiotics. Fresh faecal samples from patients with IBD (N = 6), IBS (N = 3), and control subjects (N = 6) were used. Previpect showed high fermentative ability enabling the growth of butyrate producing bacteria and increasing SCFA concentration up to 2.5-fold. Previpect is a promising prebiotic which may be used as a therapeutic strategy towards promotion of intestinal microbiota restoration, microbial healing, and as a preventive supplement for healthy individuals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Bin Li ◽  
Xin Xin Huang ◽  
Chang Jiang Zang ◽  
Chen Ma ◽  
Kai Xu Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There is little objective information concerning the effect of steam-flaked grains on foal’s growth performance and faecal microbiota. To determine the effects of steam-flaked grains on foal’s growth performance and faecal microbiota, faecal samples were collection from 18 foals which had been fed either corn, oat or barley diets over the 60 days of the experiment. Body weight and conformation measurements were collected. Next-generation sequencing of the V3 + V4 region of the 16 S rRNA gene was used to assess the microbial composition of faeces. Alpha diversity, Venn graph, Relative abundance and beta diversity are presented. Results There was a significantly higher larger increase in the body weight of those foals fed barley compared to either corn or oats. There were also significant changes in the Alpha diversity of the gut microbiota. The Shannon and Simpson indices were significantly higher in the barley fed group than those fed corn or oats. The Chao1 index was significantly higher in the oat fed group than the corn or barley fed groups. There were significant changes in the relative abundance of bacteria in the microbiota in terms of phylum, family and genus. The histogram of LDA value distribution showed that the 12 statistically different biomarkers of the bacteria were present. Tax4Fun function annotation clustering heat map showed that functional information was detected from 26 species of bacteria in faecal samples from the foals. Conclusions Differences by starch sources were found in overall growth of the foals and in the faecal microbiota if either supplementary corn, oat or barley was fed. Further studies are required to determine the potential impact of the changes in the microbiota on the health and development of foals fed cereal starch of different sources.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy P. Jenkins ◽  
David I. Pritchard ◽  
Radu Tanasescu ◽  
Gary Telford ◽  
Marina Papaiakovou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Helminth-associated changes in gut microbiota composition have been hypothesised to contribute to the immune-suppressive properties of parasitic worms. Multiple sclerosis is an immune-mediated autoimmune disease of the central nervous system whose pathophysiology has been linked to imbalances in gut microbial communities. Results In the present study, we investigated, for the first time, qualitative and quantitative changes in the faecal bacterial composition of human volunteers with remitting multiple sclerosis (RMS) prior to and following experimental infection with the human hookworm, Necator americanus (N+), and following anthelmintic treatment, and compared the findings with data obtained from a cohort of RMS patients subjected to placebo treatment (PBO). Bacterial 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing data revealed significantly decreased alpha diversity in the faecal microbiota of PBO compared to N+ subjects over the course of the trial; additionally, we observed significant differences in the abundances of several bacterial taxa with putative immune-modulatory functions between study cohorts. Parabacteroides were significantly expanded in the faecal microbiota of N+ individuals for which no clinical and/or radiological relapses were recorded at the end of the trial. Conclusions Overall, our data lend support to the hypothesis of a contributory role of parasite-associated alterations in gut microbial composition to the immune-modulatory properties of hookworm parasites.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cleyton Eduardo Mendes de Toledo ◽  
Patrícia Regina Santos ◽  
João Carlos Palazzo de Mello ◽  
Benedito Prado Dias Filho ◽  
Celso Vataru Nakamura ◽  
...  

The ethnomedicinal plantCuratella americanaL. (Dilleniaceae) is a common shrub in the Brazilian cerrado, in which crude extract showed antifungal activity in a preliminary study. In this work, the antifungal and cytotoxic properties of the crude extract, fractions, and isolated compounds fromC. americanawere evaluated against the standard yeast strainsCandida albicans,C. tropicalis, andC. parapsilosis, clinical isolates, and fluconazole-resistant strains. The combinatory effects between subfractions and isolated compounds and effects on cell morphology, virulence factors, and exogenous ergosterol were also evaluated. The MIC obtained against theCandidaspecies including fluconazole-resistant strain ranged from 15.3 to 31.3 µg/mL for crude extract, 3.9 to 15.6 µg/mL for ethyl acetate fraction, and 7.8 to 31.3 µg/mL for subfractions. The isolated compounds identified as 4′-O-methyl-catechin, epicatechin-3-O-gallate, and 4′-O-methyl-catechin-3-O-gallate showed lower antifungal activity than the crude extract and fractions (MIC ranging from 31.3 to 125.0 µg/mL). The addition of exogenous ergosterol to yeast culture did not interfere in the antifungal activity of the extract and its fractions. Synergistic antifungal activity was observed between subfractions and isolated compounds. The effects on virulence factors and the different mechanisms of action compared to fluconazole and nystatin suggest that this ethnomedicinal plant may be an effective alternative treatment for candidiasis.


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