Replication Data for: Obesity-induced alterations in the gut microbiomein female mice fed a high-fat diet are antagonized bydietary supplementation with a novel, wax ester–rich, marine oil

In this study we wanted to first describe the alterations in the gut microbiota that occur in response to diet-induced obesity in mice. Second, we examined whether dietary supplementation with a novel marine oil (Calanus® Oil from the copepod Calanus Finmarchicus), which has a strong anti-inflammatory as well as anti-obesogenic action, can prevent or limit such changes. For comparison, we also examined the effect of the GLP1-analog, exenatide, which is used for the treatment of diabetic patients. In this study, four groups of 5-6-week-old C57Bl/6J female mice (Charles River) were studied (5 mice per group). The first group served as the lean control group and was fed a normal chow diet containing 10% of energy from fat (NCD, no 58Y2, Test Diet; IPS Limited) for 20 weeks. The other groups were diet-induced obese by feeding a lard-based high-fat diet containing 46% of energy from fat (HFD, no 58V8, Test Diet; IPS Limited). The second group received the HFD for 20 weeks. The third and fourth group received the HFD for 12 weeks followed by 8 weeks of treatment. The third group received HFD supplemented with 2% (w/w) calanus oil, supplied by Calanus® AS, Tromsø, Norway, (HFD + Cal). The fourth group was fed HFD and treated with exenatide, 10µg/kg/day, via an mini-osmotic pumps implanted subcutaneously in the back of the animals (HFD + Ex). The addition of calanus oil was compensated for by removal of 2 g lard/100 g diet, making the total fat and energy content of the HFD and the HFD + Cal similar.