Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Horses Suffering from Atypical Myopathy and Healthy Co-Grazers
Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is caused by hypoglycin A (HGA) and methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG) intoxication resulting from the ingestion of seeds or seedlings of some <i>Acer</i> tree species. Interestingly, not all horses pasturing in the same toxic environment develop signs of th...
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/2/506 |
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| author | Christina Wimmer-Scherr Bernard Taminiau Benoît Renaud Gunther van Loon Katrien Palmers Dominique Votion Hélène Amory Georges Daube Carla Cesarini |
| author_facet | Christina Wimmer-Scherr Bernard Taminiau Benoît Renaud Gunther van Loon Katrien Palmers Dominique Votion Hélène Amory Georges Daube Carla Cesarini |
| author_sort | Christina Wimmer-Scherr |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is caused by hypoglycin A (HGA) and methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG) intoxication resulting from the ingestion of seeds or seedlings of some <i>Acer</i> tree species. Interestingly, not all horses pasturing in the same toxic environment develop signs of the disease. In other species, it has been shown that the intestinal microbiota has an impact on digestion, metabolism, immune stimulation and protection from disease. The objective of this study was to characterize and compare fecal microbiota of horses suffering from AM and healthy co-grazers. Furthermore, potential differences in fecal microbiota regarding the outcome of diseased animals were assessed. This prospective observational study included 59 horses with AM (29 survivors and 30 non-survivors) referred to three Belgian equine hospitals and 26 clinically healthy co-grazers simultaneously sharing contaminated pastures during spring and autumn outbreak periods. Fresh fecal samples (rectal or within 30 min of defecation) were obtained from all horses and bacterial taxonomy profiling obtained by 16S amplicon sequencing was used to identify differentially distributed bacterial taxa between AM-affected horses and healthy co-grazers. Fecal microbial diversity and evenness were significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.001) higher in AM-affected horses as compared with their non-affected co-grazers. The relative abundance of families Ruminococcaceae, Christensenellaceae and Akkermansiaceae were higher (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.001) whereas those of the Lachnospiraceae (<i>p</i> = 0.0053), Bacteroidales (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) and Clostridiales (<i>p</i> = 0.0402) were lower in horses with AM, especially in those with a poor prognosis. While significant shifts were observed, it is still unclear whether they result from the disease or might be involved in the onset of disease pathogenesis. |
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| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:51:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd5c5bac584a4378b10d76c8e01b7e7a2023-12-11T17:08:26ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-02-0111250610.3390/ani11020506Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Horses Suffering from Atypical Myopathy and Healthy Co-GrazersChristina Wimmer-Scherr0Bernard Taminiau1Benoît Renaud2Gunther van Loon3Katrien Palmers4Dominique Votion5Hélène Amory6Georges Daube7Carla Cesarini8Equine Clinical Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bât. B41, Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, BelgiumFundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, BelgiumFundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, BelgiumLarge Animal Internal Medicine, Gent University, 9820 Gent, BelgiumDe Morette Equine Clinic, 1730 Asse, BelgiumFundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, BelgiumEquine Clinical Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bât. B41, Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, BelgiumFundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, BelgiumEquine Clinical Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bât. B41, Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, BelgiumEquine atypical myopathy (AM) is caused by hypoglycin A (HGA) and methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG) intoxication resulting from the ingestion of seeds or seedlings of some <i>Acer</i> tree species. Interestingly, not all horses pasturing in the same toxic environment develop signs of the disease. In other species, it has been shown that the intestinal microbiota has an impact on digestion, metabolism, immune stimulation and protection from disease. The objective of this study was to characterize and compare fecal microbiota of horses suffering from AM and healthy co-grazers. Furthermore, potential differences in fecal microbiota regarding the outcome of diseased animals were assessed. This prospective observational study included 59 horses with AM (29 survivors and 30 non-survivors) referred to three Belgian equine hospitals and 26 clinically healthy co-grazers simultaneously sharing contaminated pastures during spring and autumn outbreak periods. Fresh fecal samples (rectal or within 30 min of defecation) were obtained from all horses and bacterial taxonomy profiling obtained by 16S amplicon sequencing was used to identify differentially distributed bacterial taxa between AM-affected horses and healthy co-grazers. Fecal microbial diversity and evenness were significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.001) higher in AM-affected horses as compared with their non-affected co-grazers. The relative abundance of families Ruminococcaceae, Christensenellaceae and Akkermansiaceae were higher (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.001) whereas those of the Lachnospiraceae (<i>p</i> = 0.0053), Bacteroidales (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) and Clostridiales (<i>p</i> = 0.0402) were lower in horses with AM, especially in those with a poor prognosis. While significant shifts were observed, it is still unclear whether they result from the disease or might be involved in the onset of disease pathogenesis.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/2/506equinefecalintestinalmicrobiomerhabdomyolysisintoxication |
| spellingShingle | Christina Wimmer-Scherr Bernard Taminiau Benoît Renaud Gunther van Loon Katrien Palmers Dominique Votion Hélène Amory Georges Daube Carla Cesarini Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Horses Suffering from Atypical Myopathy and Healthy Co-Grazers Animals equine fecal intestinal microbiome rhabdomyolysis intoxication |
| title | Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Horses Suffering from Atypical Myopathy and Healthy Co-Grazers |
| title_full | Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Horses Suffering from Atypical Myopathy and Healthy Co-Grazers |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Horses Suffering from Atypical Myopathy and Healthy Co-Grazers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Horses Suffering from Atypical Myopathy and Healthy Co-Grazers |
| title_short | Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Horses Suffering from Atypical Myopathy and Healthy Co-Grazers |
| title_sort | comparison of fecal microbiota of horses suffering from atypical myopathy and healthy co grazers |
| topic | equine fecal intestinal microbiome rhabdomyolysis intoxication |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/2/506 |
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