Moderate exercise reverses gut microbiome changes in senescence-accelerated mice

Aging is often associated with diseases that adversely affect the quality of life, making healthy aging an important challenge. The intestinal microbiota is a recent target for anti-aging research owing to its complex role in regulating host biological indicators. Although exercise is well known for its metabolic and immunologic effects in the host, its impact on the microbiota remains uncertain. To investigate the effect of exercise on gut microbiome in aged mice, we used senescence-accelerated resistant (SAMR1) and senescence-accelerated prone (SAMP8) mice. SAMP8 mice were placed in a sedentary group or a group that engaged in moderate-intensity exercise. Differences in the intestinal microbiome of these three mouse groups were then assessed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing analysis of fecal pellets.