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Cited by 143Gut microbiota and healthVeterinary Equine Medical ResearchRuminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology

Faecal microbiota of forage-fed horses in New Zealand and the population dynamics of microbial communities following dietary change.

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Fernandes, Karlette A., Kittelmann, Sandra, Rogers, Christopher W., Gee, Erica K., Bolwell, Charlotte F., Bermingham, Emma N., Thomas, David G.·2014·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0112846PMC PMC4226576
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Abstract

The effects of abrupt dietary transition on the faecal microbiota of forage-fed horses over a 3-week period were investigated. Yearling Thoroughbred fillies reared as a cohort were exclusively fed on either an ensiled conserved forage-grain diet ("Group A"; n = 6) or pasture ("Group B"; n = 6) for three weeks prior to the study. After the Day 0 faecal samples were collected, horses of Group A were abruptly transitioned to pasture. Both groups continued to graze similar pasture for three weeks, with faecal samples collected at 4-day intervals. DNA was isolated from the faeces and microbial 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicons were generated and analysed by pyrosequencing. The faecal bacterial communities of both groups of horses were highly diverse (Simpson's index of diversity > 0.8), with differences between the two groups on Day 0 (P < 0.017 adjusted for multiple comparisons). There were differences between Groups A and B in the relative abundances of four genera, BF311 (family Bacteroidaceae; P = 0.003), CF231 (family Paraprevotellaceae; P = 0.004), and currently unclassified members within the order Clostridiales (P = 0.003) and within the family Lachnospiraceae (P = 0.006). The bacterial community of Group A horses became similar to Group B within four days of feeding on pasture, whereas the structure of the archaeal community remained constant pre- and post-dietary change. The community structure of the faecal microbiota (bacteria, archaea and ciliate protozoa) of pasture-fed horses was also identified. The initial differences observed appeared to be linked to recent dietary history, with the bacterial community of the forage-fed horses responding rapidly to abrupt dietary change.

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  • Other hindgut fermenters, such as the horse, can rapidly reverse disruptions in microbial homeostasis following a diet change.

    “Other hindgut fermenters, such as the horse, can rapidly reverse disruptions in microbial homeostasis following a diet change (Fernandes et al., 2014)”

    From Novel Lethal Clostridial Infection in Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris): Cause of the 2013 Unusual Mortality Event in the Indian River Lagoon (2022) · cites this paper as Fernandes et al., 2014

    The Discussion reports that horses moved from a conserved forage-grain diet to pasture developed faecal bacterial communities similar to those of pasture-fed horses within four days. This supports rapid change after a diet switch, but the study does not establish that microbial homeostasis had been disrupted or that a prior state was restored; its dietary challenge was moderate and primarily forage-based. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Authors
Fernandes, K. A., Kittelmann, S., Rogers, C. W., Gee, E. K., Bolwell, C. F., Bermingham, E. N., & Thomas, D. G.
Affiliations
  • Massey University (NZ)
  • AgResearch (NZ)
Corresponding author
Fernandes, Karlette A.
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2014-11-10
Volume
9
Issue
11
Pages
e112846
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0112846
PMC
PMC4226576
OpenAlex
W2027291563
Cited by
143
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6
FWCI
3.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • AgResearch
  • Massey University
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Equine › Veterinary Equine Medical Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
Keywords
fecal microbiota, horses, nutrition transition, pasture grazing, gut bacterial community, archaeal communities, ciliates, Thoroughbred filly, Clostridiales, Lachnospiraceae, Bacteroidaceae, microbial community dynamics
MeSH terms
Animals, Animal Feed, Archaea, Bacteria, Diet, Feces, Horses, New Zealand, Population Dynamics, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, RNA, Ribosomal, 18S, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Microbiota

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