The current study involved the evaluation of the effect of five different yeast-derived formulations on microbial metabolism and composition of the canine and feline colonic microbiota. To do so, a novel short-term colonic batch incubation approach (48h) was developed. Both model validation and treatment effects were evaluated through analysis of microbial metabolic activity via determination of the pH decrease of the medium, the pressure build-up inside the bottles, and the quantification of SCFA, BSCFA, lactate, and ammonium. The influence on the colonic microbiota composition was studied through qPCR using primers targeting the Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli, and Enterobacteriaceae and through 16S-targeted Illumina sequencing coupled to flow cytometric quantification of the total bacterial population. Firstly, it followed that the novel fermentation model allowed growth of the complete spectrum of canine and feline-derived bacteria present in the original inocula thus offering a relevant technology platform to evaluate the effect of dietary interventions. With respect to treatment effect it followed that specific supplementation of yeast supplements differentially increased production of acetate, propionate, and butyrate and also differentially modulated proteolytic fermentation resulting in increased production of ammonium and BSCFA. Further, while qPCR was not able to reveal great insights in microbiota modulation,16S-targeted Illumina sequencing coupled with flow cytometry revealed great insight and showed that the effects on propionate could be corroborated by alterations within the Prevotellaceae, Tannerellaceae, Bacteroidaceae and Veillonellaceae families, whereas effects on butyrate production could be explained by changes in the Erysipelotrichaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae and Fusobacteriaceae families.

Modulation of the luminal and mucosal gut microbiome of cats and dogs by a novel short-term colonic fermentation model

2019 Fall National Meeting

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