Fecal microbiota variation across the lifespan of the healthy laboratory rat
Open accessAbstract
Laboratory rats are commonly used in life science research as a model for human biology and disease, but the composition and development of their gut microbiota during life is poorly understood. We determined the fecal microbiota composition of healthy Sprague Dawley laboratory rats from 3 weeks to 2 y of age, kept under controlled environmental and dietary conditions. Additionally, we determined fecal short-chain fatty acid profiles, and we compared the rat fecal microbiota with that of mice and humans. Gut microbiota and to a lesser extent SCFAs profiles separated rats into 3 different clusters according to age: before weaning, first year of life (12- to 26-week-old animals) and second year of life (52- to 104-week-old). A core of 46 bacterial species was present in all rats but its members' relative abundance progressively decreased with age. This was accompanied by an increase of microbiota α-diversity, likely due to the acquisition of environmental microorganisms during the lifespan. Contrastingly, the functional profile of the microbiota across animal species became more similar upon aging. Lastly, the microbiota of rats and mice were most similar to each other but at the same time the microbiota profile of rats was more similar to that of humans than was the microbiota profile of mice. These data offer an explanation as to why germ-free rats are more efficient recipients and retainers of human microbiota than mice. Furthermore, experimental design should take into account dynamic changes in the microbiota of model animals considering that their changing gut microbiota interacts with their physiology.
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The phenomenon of age-related gut microbiota change exists simultaneously in species such as Drosophila, fish, mice, rats, and humans.
“Moreover, this phenomenon exists simultaneously in species such as Drosophila,219 fish,220 mice,221 rats,222 and humans.223”
From Inflammation and aging: signaling pathways and intervention therapies (2023) · cites this paper as [222]
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- Authors
- Flemer, B., Gaci, N., Borrel, G., Sanderson, I. R., Chaudhary, P. P., Tottey, W., O'Toole, P. W., & Brugère, J.-F.
- Affiliations
- University College Cork (IE)
- Université Clermont Auvergne (FR)
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- School of Microbiology and APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, Ireland
- Corresponding author
- Brugère, Jean-François
- ORCID
- Venue
- Gut Microbes
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-06-06
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 428-439
- ISSN
- 1949-0976 (ISSN-L)
- 1949-0984
- PMC
- PMC5628645
- OpenAlex
- W2624151437
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 4.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Gut Microbes (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (acceptedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Cork Open Research Archive (University College Cork, Ireland) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Queen Mary Research Online (Queen Mary University of London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Science Foundation Ireland (SFI/12/RC/, 12/RC/2273, 12/RC/, SFI/12/RC/2273.)
- APC Microbiome Institute (SFI/12/RC/2273)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Nutrition and Physiology
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
- Keywords
- gut microbiota, fecal microbiota, aging, lifespan, laboratory rats, short-chain fatty acids, alpha diversity, core microbiome, germ-free rats, microbiota transfer
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Animals, Feces, Humans, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Mice, Microbiota
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