1. Giardiasis and diarrhea in dogs: Does the microbiome matter?
- Author
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Kuzi, Sharon, Zgairy, Soha, Suchodolski, Jan, Turjeman, Sondra, Park, So, Aroch, Itamar, Hong, Mike, Koren, Omry, Lavy, Eran, and Byrne, Barbara
- Subjects
Clostridium ,Giardia duodenalis ,Verrucomicrobia ,canine ,dysbiosis index ,proteobacteria ,Male ,Female ,Animals ,Dogs ,Giardiasis ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Dysbiosis ,Diarrhea ,Feces ,Microbiota ,Dog Diseases - Abstract
BACKGROUND: Giardia duodenalis (Gd) causes intestinal parasitosis. The involvement of the intestinal microbiome in determining the infections clinical phenotype is unknown. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the fecal microbiome features in dogs with giardiasis. ANIMALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study, including fecal samples of kenneled dogs with Gd diagnosed by fecal Giardia antigen dot ELISA. The fecal microbial compositional characteristics and dysbiosis index (DI) were compared between diarrheic and nondiarrheic dogs. RESULTS: Fecal samples of 38 Gd-infected dogs (diarrheic, 21; nondiarrheic, 17) were included. No differences were found in Faiths phylogenic diversity and beta diversity (weighted UniFrac distances) and in specific taxa abundances at the phylum, genus, and species levels, as well as in alpha and beta diversities between diarrheic and nondiarrheic dogs, and also when divided by sex or age. Among diarrheic dogs, alpha diversity was higher in males than in females (pairwise Kruskal-Wallis, q = 0.01). Among males, fecal abundances of the genus Clostridium (W = 19) and Clostridium spiroforme species (W = 33) were higher in diarrheic compared to nondiarrheic dogs. In diarrheic dog fecal samples, Proteobacteria were more prevalent (W = 1), whereas Verrucomicrobia were less prevalent in dogs
- Published
- 2024