Differences in the gut microbiota of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) fed a natural diet or a commercial feed revealed by the Illumina MiSeq platform

• Main Authors: Junhyung Kim, Jae-Uk An, Woohyun Kim, Soomin Lee, Seongbeom Cho
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Figshare 2017
• Subjects: Microbiology; FOS Biological sciences; Evolutionary Biology; 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Earth and related environmental sciences; 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Chemical sciences; Ecology; 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; Science Policy; Computational Biology; Canis lupus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3936721; https://figshare.com/collections/Differences_in_the_gut_microbiota_of_dogs_Canis_lupus_familiaris_fed_a_natural_diet_or_a_commercial_feed_revealed_by_the_Illumina_MiSeq_platform/3936721

Abstract Background Recent advances in next-generation sequencing technologies have enabled comprehensive analysis of the gut microbiota, which is closely linked to the health of the host. Consequently, several studies have explored the factors affecting gut microbiota composition. In recent years, increasing number of dog owners are feeding their pets a natural diet i.e., one consisting of bones, raw meat (such as chicken and beef), and vegetables, instead of commercial feed. However, the effect of these diets on the microbiota of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) is unclear. Methods and results Six dogs fed a natural diet and five dogs fed a commercial feed were selected; dog fecal metagenomic DNA samples were analyzed using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Pronounced differences in alpha and beta diversities, and taxonomic composition of the core gut microbiota were observed between the two groups. According to alpha diversity, the number of operational taxonomic units, the richness estimates, and diversity indices of microbiota were significantly higher (p