Facility-dependent metabolic phenotype and gut bacterial composition in CD-1 mice from a single vendor: A brief report

PLoS One. 2020 Sep 21;15(9):e0238893. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238893. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Utilization of murine models remains a valuable tool in biomedical research, yet, disease phenotype of mice across studies can vary considerably. With advances in next generation sequencing, it is increasingly recognized that inconsistencies in host phenotype can be attributed, at least in part, to differences in gut bacterial composition. Research with inbred murine strains demonstrates that housing conditions play a significant role in variations of gut bacterial composition, however, few studies have assessed whether observed variation influences host phenotype in response to an intervention. Our study initially sought to examine the effects of a long-term (9-months) dietary intervention (i.e., diets with distinct fatty acid compositions) on the metabolic health, in particular glucose homeostasis, of genetically-outbred male and female CD-1 mice. Yet, mice were shipped from two different husbandry facilities of the same commercial vendor (Cohort A and B, respectively), and we observed throughout the study that diet, sex, and aging differentially influenced the metabolic phenotype of mice depending on their husbandry facility of origin. Examination of the colonic bacteria of mice revealed distinct bacterial compositions, including 23 differentially abundant genera and an enhanced alpha diversity in mice of Cohort B compared to Cohort A. We also observed that a distinct metabolic phenotype was linked with these differentially abundant bacteria and indices of alpha diversity. Our findings support that metabolic phenotypic variation of mice of the same strain but shipped from different husbandry facilities may be influenced by their colonic bacterial community structure. Our work is an important precautionary note for future research of metabolic diseases via mouse models, particularly those that seek to examine factors such diet, sex, and aging.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animal Husbandry
  • Animals
  • Bacteria / classification*
  • Bacteria / drug effects
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification
  • Diet / adverse effects*
  • Feces / microbiology*
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / drug effects
  • Glucose / metabolism*
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / methods*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred Strains / genetics*
  • Models, Animal
  • Phenotype
  • Phylogeny
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

  • Glucose

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Armin Grams Memorial Research Award (JK, TLJ; http://med.uvm.edu/) from the Center on Aging at the UVM Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine and a USDA-NIFA Hatch Fund (JK; accession number: 1006628; https://nifa.usda.gov/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.