High-starch diets alter equine faecal microbiota and increase behavioural reactivity
Open accessAbstract
Gut microbiota have been associated with health, disease and behaviour in several species and are an important link in gut-brain axis communication. Diet plays a key role in affecting the composition of gut microbiota. In horses, high-starch diets alter the hindgut microbiota. High-starch diets are also associated with increased behavioural reactivity in horses. These changes in microbiota and behaviour may be associated. This study compares the faecal microbiota and behaviour of 10 naïve ponies. A cross-over design was used with experimental groups fed high-starch (HS) or high-fibre (HF) diets. Results showed that ponies were more reactive and less settled when being fed the HS diet compared to the HF diet. Irrespective of diet, the bacterial profile was dominated by two main phyla, Firmicutes, closely followed by Bacteroidetes. However, at lower taxonomic levels multivariate analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequencing data showed diet affected faecal microbial community structure. The abundance of 85 OTUs differed significantly related to diet. Correlative relationships exist between dietary induced alterations to faecal microbiota and behaviour. Results demonstrate a clear link between diet, faecal microbial community composition and behaviour. Dietary induced alterations to gut microbiota play a role in affecting the behaviour of the host.
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Strong associations between increased behavioral reactivity and a microbial profile elicited by a high-starch diet, as well as more settled behaviors associated with microbes promoted by a high-fiber diet, were observed in horses.
“Likewise, strong associations between increased behavioral reactivity and a microbial profile elicited by a high-starch diet, as well as more settled behaviors associated with microbes promoted by a highfiber diet, were observed in horses (323).”
From Diet and the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Sowing the Seeds of Good Mental Health (2021) · cites this paper as [323]
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Diet and the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Sowing the Seeds of Good Mental Health
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- Authors
- Bulmer, L. S., Murray, J.-A., Burns, N. M., Garber, A., Wemelsfelder, F., McEwan, N. R., & Hastie, P. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- Robert Gordon University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Bulmer, Louise S.
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2019-12-09
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 18621-18621
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6901590
- OpenAlex
- W2944773740
- Cited by
- 63
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 11.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Open Access Institutional Repository at Robert Gordon University (Robert Gordon University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- University of Glasgow
- Scotland’s Rural College
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Equine › Veterinary Equine Medical Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
- Keywords
- high-starch diet, high-fiber diet, gut microbiota, behavioural reactivity, horses, ponies, gut-brain axis, microbial community structure, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes
- MeSH terms
- Bacillota, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Animals, Animal Feed, Behavior, Animal, Brain, Dietary Fiber, Feces, Horses, Intestines, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Starch, Multivariate Analysis, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Cross-Over Studies, Bacteroidetes
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