16S sequencing of mouse cecal microbiota from water or antibiotic-treated mice injected with saline, cocaine or morphine. Mus musculus

This is an experiment to examine how the drugs of abuse affect the composition of the gut microbiota. The experiment is generally run as a 2 x 3 design. Animals were initially treated with either control water or broad spectrum antibiotics via their drinking water for two weeks to deplete their gut bacteria. Following this, animals from these two groups were treated with once daily injections of saline, cocaine, or morphine for seven days. Animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the final injection. In addition to this, one cohort of animals was allowed to withdraw for 28 days after the last saline or cocaine injection and the animals were sacrificed at that time. This will allow us to determine thelasting effects of cocaine on the cecal microbiota.