Longitudinal Survey of Fecal Microbiota in Healthy Dogs Administered a Commercial Probiotic

Susan Ciaravolo; Lina María Martínez-López; Richard J N Allcock; Andrew P Woodward; Caroline Mansfield

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.664318

Longitudinal Survey of Fecal Microbiota in Healthy Dogs Administered a Commercial Probiotic

Front Vet Sci. 2021 Jun 21:8:664318. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.664318. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Susan Ciaravolo^{1

2}, Lina María Martínez-López¹, Richard J N Allcock³, Andrew P Woodward^{1

4}, Caroline Mansfield¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.
² Peninsula Vet, Emergency and Referral Hospital, Mornington, VIC, Australia.
³ School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.

Abstract

The aim of this longitudinal microbiome study was to investigate the effects of a commercially available veterinary synbiotic product (Blackmore's® Paw DigestiCare 60™) on the fecal microbiome of healthy dogs using 16S rRNA gene microbial profiling. Fifteen healthy, privately-owned dogs participated in a 2-week trial administration of the product. Fecal samples were collected at different time points, including baseline (prior to treatment), during administration and after discontinuation of product. Large intra- and inter-individual variation was observed throughout the study, but microbiome composition at higher phylogenetic levels, alpha and beta diversity were not significantly altered after 2 weeks of probiotic administration, suggesting an absence of probiotic impact on microbial diversity. Administration of the synbiotic preparation did, however, result in transient increases in probiotic species from Enterococacceae and Streptococacceae families as well as an increase in Fusobacteria; with the fecal microbiota partially reverting to its baseline state 3-weeks after cessation of probiotic administration.

Keywords: Bifidobacterium; Enterococcus; Lactobacillus; Streptococcus; microbiota; probiotic; synbiotic.