A Comparison of the Colonic Microbiome and Volatile Organic Compound Metabolome of <i>Anoplocephala perfoliata</i> Infected and Non-Infected Horses: A Pilot Study



Slater, Rachael, Frau, Alessandra ORCID: 0000-0002-6885-1042, Hodgkinson, Jane ORCID: 0000-0001-9152-8481, Archer, Debra ORCID: 0000-0003-4421-9269 and Probert, Chris ORCID: 0000-0003-0477-6714
(2021) A Comparison of the Colonic Microbiome and Volatile Organic Compound Metabolome of <i>Anoplocephala perfoliata</i> Infected and Non-Infected Horses: A Pilot Study. ANIMALS, 11 (3). 755-.

Access the full-text of this item by clicking on the Open Access link.

Abstract

<i>Anoplocephala perfoliata</i> is a common equine tapeworm associated with an increased risk of colic (abdominal pain) in horses. Identification of parasite and intestinal microbiota interactions have consequences for understanding the mechanisms behind parasite-associated colic and potential new methods for parasite control. <i>A. perfoliata</i> was diagnosed by counting of worms in the caecum post-mortem. Bacterial DNA was extracted from colonic contents and sequenced targeting of the 16S rRNA gene (V4 region). The volatile organic compound (VOC) metabolome of colonic contents was characterised using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Bacterial diversity (alpha and beta) was similar between tapeworm infected and non-infected controls. Some compositional differences were apparent with down-regulation of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to the symbiotic families of Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae in the tapeworm-infected group. Overall tapeworm burden accounted for 7-8% of variation in the VOC profile (permutational multivariate analysis of variance). Integration of bacterial OTUs and VOCs demonstrated moderate to strong correlations indicating the potential of VOCs as markers for bacterial OTUs in equine colonic contents. This study has shown potential differences in the intestinal microbiome and metabolome of <i>A. perfoliata</i> infected and non-infected horses. This pilot study did not control for extrinsic factors including diet, disease history and stage of infection.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: anoplocephala perfoliata, equine, gut microbiome, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), omics integration
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 15 Mar 2021 11:45
Last Modified: 10 Feb 2024 03:17
DOI: 10.3390/ani11030755
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030755
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3117356