Collaborative Metabolism: Gut Microbes Play a Key Role in Canine and Feline Bile Acid Metabolism.

Simple Summary: This review explores the emergence of new literature connecting microbial-derived bile acid metabolism to canine and feline health and disease. Specifically, it highlights how gut microbes can orchestrate canine and feline physiology and disease through metabolism and the diversification of bile acid pools, which ultimately impact the host via the activation of bile acid receptors. Incorporating the therapeutic potential of bile acid metabolism into evidence-based veterinary practice will require familiarity with and an understanding of these concepts for a broad array of veterinarians including general practitioners, specialists, and researchers. Bile acids, produced by the liver and secreted into the gastrointestinal tract, are dynamic molecules capable of impacting the overall health of dogs and cats in many contexts. Importantly, the gut microbiota metabolizes host primary bile acids into chemically distinct secondary bile acids. This review explores the emergence of new literature connecting microbial-derived bile acid metabolism to canine and feline health and disease. Moreover, this review highlights multi-omic methodologies for translational research as an area for continued growth in veterinary medicine aimed at accelerating microbiome science and medicine as it pertains to bile acid metabolism in dogs and cats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]