Dog gut microbiome metagenome upon diet change

The gut microbiota (GM) is associated with canine health and can be impacted by diet. Dog owners in the U.S. have increasingly shown an interest in feeding their dogs a mildly cooked (MC) diet, also known as a fresh diet. However, its impact on canine GM and health remains largely unknown. Healthy household dogs were tracked upon switching from various brands of extruded to MC diets for four weeks. Stool samples were collected before (day 0) and after the diet transition (day 28). Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed at both time points to characterize the GM.

肠道菌群（gut microbiota, GM）与犬类健康密切相关，其组成可受饮食调控与影响。美国的宠物犬饲主近年来愈发青睐为自家犬只饲喂轻度加工（mildly cooked, MC）饮食，这类饮食亦被称为鲜食。然而，这类饮食对犬类肠道菌群与健康的影响目前仍在很大程度上尚不明确。本研究对健康家养犬开展为期四周的跟踪观测，记录其从各类品牌膨化粮转换为轻度加工饮食的完整过程。分别在饮食转换前（第0天）与转换完成后（第28天）采集粪便样本，并在两个时间点均实施鸟枪宏基因组测序（shotgun metagenomic sequencing）以表征肠道菌群的组成特征。