Effect of chlorinated drinking water on the developing gut microbiota of mice

Water chlorination is an effective method used to sanitize water and deter growth of microbes that can cause disease. However, the effect that chlorine has on the gut microbiota is unclear. Here, male and female B6 mice were provided either chlorinated or spring water over the course of 4 weeks. Feces was harvested each week, and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of the V1-V2 region was used to compared genetic profiles of the gut microbiota between mice provided chlorine to those provided spring water.