• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.763-774
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• 2016

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome is one of the most frequently reported diseases in thoroughbred racehorses. Although several risk factors for the development of gastric ulcers have been widely studied, investigation of microbiological factors has been limited. In this study, the presence of Helicobacter spp. and the gastric microbial communities of thoroughbred racehorses having mild to severe gastric ulcers were investigated. Although Helicobacter spp. were not detected using culture and PCR techniques from 52 gastric biopsies and 52 fecal samples, the genomic sequences of H. pylori and H. ganmani were detected using nextgeneration sequencing techniques from 2 out of 10 representative gastric samples. The gastric microbiota of horses was mainly composed of Firmicutes (50.0%), Proteobacteria (18.7%), Bacteroidetes (14.4%), and Actinobacteria (9.7%), but the proportion of each phylum varied among samples. There was no major difference in microbial composition among samples having mild to severe gastric ulcers. Using phylogenetic analysis, three distinct clusters were observed, and one cluster differed from the other two clusters in the frequency of feeding, amount of water consumption, and type of bedding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the gastric microbiota of thoroughbred racehorses having gastric ulcer and to evaluate the microbial diversity in relation to the severity of gastric ulcer and management factors. This study is important for further exploration of the gastric microbiota in racehorses and is ultimately applicable to improving animal and human health.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.333-337
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the effects of fasting on gut microbiota of mice fed normal (CTL) or high-fat diets (HF). Mice were raised for 16 weeks and fasted for a day at the end of the experiment. Fecal samples were collected one day before and after fasting, which were analyzed using MiSeq. Our results showed that the species richness and evenness were decreased in fasted HF group, whereas no difference was observed for CTL groups. Moreover, HF fed mice gut microbiota showed different microbial communities after fasting, while CTL groups did not show microbiota shifts. Differential abundance analysis showed that fasting CTL group mice increased and decreased one operational taxonomic unit (OTU) in S24_7 and one OTU in Ruminococcaceae, respectively. On the other hand, fasting HF group mice decreased 10 OTUs and increased 3 OTUs most of which were classified to Ruminococcaceae. Our results suggest that fasting mice may affect the abundance of Ruminococcaceae species and effects of fasting seem to be more obvious for HF-fed mice compared to those of mice fed CTL-diet.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.308-312
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• 2014

In this study, we conducted a next generation sequencing based microbial community analysis to investigate gut microbiota of the two commercially most available swine breeds, Yorkshire and Landrace. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified from fecal DNA using universal primer sets designed for V4 regions. Our comparison analysis of the gut microbiota of the two breeds suggested that their gut microbiota changed depending on the growth stages, while the difference between the two breeds was insignificant. However, there was a limited number of genera, the abundance of which was found to be different between the breeds. Those included the genus Xylanibacter in the Yorkshire samples, which was previously reported as a fiber digesting bacteria, likely increasing energy harvesting capacity of swine. In addition, others included opportunistic pathogens mostly found in the Yorkshire samples while the Landrace samples had significantly more prevalent Clostridium_IV species that were known to play a key role in systemic immunity of hosts. While microbial community shifts was found to be associated with growth stages, the difference between the two breeds seemed to be insignificant. However, there were several bacterial genera showing differential abundance, which may affect growth of hosts.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.119-131
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• 2024

BIOVITA 3 bacterial species (BIOVITA 3), a probiotic blend powder containing Clostridium butyricum IDCC 1301, Weizmannia coagulans IDCC 1201, and Bacillus subtilis IDCC 1101, has been used as a food ingredient for gut health. However, its efficacy in improving constipation has not been reported. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the functional effects of oral administration of BIOVITA 3 as well as its component strains alone (at 1.0×10⁹ CFU/day) in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats with loperamide-induced constipation. The study included fecal analysis, gastrointestinal transit ratio, histopathological analysis, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and metagenome analysis. As results, the BIOVITA 3 group showed significant improvements in fecal number, water content, gastrointestinal transit ratio, and thickening of the mucosal layer. In the SCFAs analysis, all probiotic-treated groups showed an increase in total SCFAs compared to the loperamide-constipated group. Changes in microbial abundance and the diversity index of three groups (normal, constipated, and BIOVITA 3) were also defined. Of these, the BIOVITA 3 showed a significant improvement in loperamide-constipated SD-rats. This study suggests the possibility that BIOVITA 3 can be applied as an ingredient in functional foods to relieve constipation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1079-1087
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• 2021

To analyze gut microbiota of livestock in Korea and compare taxonomic differences, we conducted 16S rRNA metagenomic analysis through next-generation sequencing. Fecal samples from broiler chickens, pigs, and cattle were collected from domestic feedlots randomly. α-diversity results showed that significant differences in estimated species richness estimates (Chao1 and ACE, Abundance-based coverage estimators) and species richness index (OUTs, Operational taxonomic units) were identified among the three groups. However, NPShannon, Shannon, and Simpson indices revealed that abundance and evenness of the species were statistically significant only for poultry (broiler chickens) and mammals (pigs and cattle). Firmicutes was the most predominant phylum in the three groups of fecal samples. Linear discriminant (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) analysis was conducted to reveal the ranking order of abundant taxa in each of the fecal samples. A size-effect over 2.0 on the logarithmic LDA score was used as a discriminative functional biomarker. As shown by the fecal analysis at the genus level, broiler chickens were characterized by the presence of Weissella and Lactobacillus, as well as pigs were characterized by the presence of provetella and cattele were characterized by the presence of Acinetobacter. A permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) showed that differences of microbial clusters among three groups were significant at the confidence level. (p=0.001). This study provides basic data that could be useful in future research on microorganisms associated with performance growth, as well as in studies on the livestock gut microbiome to increase productivity in the domestic livestock industry.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.1-6
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• 2009

Probiotic bacteria have been administered to neonates to serve as maturational stimuli for the developing gut and intestinal immune system, establish and develop the intestinal microbiota, and mediate host-microbe interactions; further, these bacteria have shown beneficial effects In the treatment and reduction of the risk of infectious diseases, necrotizing enterocolitis, and atopic disease. An LAB isolation project to identify effective lactic acid bacteria for Korean people is in progress. The average total counts of lactic acid bacteria, lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, and coliforms in the fecal samples from 2 provinces were estimated as 8.31, 5.98, 8.13, and 3.01 CFU/g. Additional samples from other provinces will be analyzed to examine the changes in the lactic bacterial counts according to the area, sex of the neonate, mode of delivery, and type of feeding. A database containing the 16S rDNA sequences and the ribosomal protein profile of all the lactic acid bacteria isolated from fecal samples will be constructed. For the effective use of probiotics, a number of clinical studies are needed to formulate guidelines for strain, subject, purpose, and dose.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.655-668
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• 2021

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of the supplementation of Achyranthes japonica extract (AJE) on overall performance levels with different nutrition concentrations in the diets of finishing pigs. Here, 140 finishing pigs with initial body weights of 50.18 ± 2.37 kg were used in a ten-week trial involving a 2 × 2 factorial design in two phases with the following factors: diet types with different nutrition concentrations (Positive control [PC] vs. Negative control [NC]) and 0 or 0.05% AJE supplementation to NC and PC diets. The PC diet was a basal diet, whereas the NC diet consisted of a 5% and 7% crude protein (CP) reduced basal diet during phase 1 (1 - 35 days) and phase 2 (36 - 70 days), respectively. A significant effect (p < 0.05) on the gain-to-feed ratio (G : F) was observed with interaction effects between the diets and AJE supplementation. However, during phase 1 and in all periods, the pigs fed the PC and NC diets with average daily feed intake (ADFI) tended to decrease compared to those fed diets with AJE. A significant effect (p = 0.0380) of E. coli was observed in pigs fed the PC and NC diets compared to AJE supplementation in phase 2 of the experiment. The backfat thickness (BFT) tended to decrease and the lean meat percentage (LMP) was significantly improved in phase 2 for pigs fed the PC and NC diets. In summary, BFT and LMP showed beneficial effects and fecal microbiota of E. coli counts were positively affected when pigs were fed diets with different nutrient concentrations.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Objectives We aimed to find out the improvement effect of Baekhogainsam-tang (Baihu Jia Renshen-tang, BIT) on metabolic syndrome and alteration of microbiota and gene expression. Methods We used male C57BI/6 mice and randomly assigned them into three groups. Normal control group was fed 10% kcal% fat diet, high-fat diet (HFD) group was fed 45% kcal% fat diet and 10% fructose water. BIT group was fed same diet as HFD group and treated by BIT for once daily, 6 days per week, total 8 weeks. We measured their body weight and food intake every week and performed oral glucose tolerance test 1 week before the end of the study. Then we collected the blood sample to measure triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin, and hemoglobin A1c. We harvested tissue of liver, muscle, fat, and large intestine for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and histopathological examination. Fresh fecal samples were collected from each animal to verify alterations of gut microbiota and we used RNA from liver tissue for microarray analysis. Results The body weight and fat weight of BIT group were reduced compared to HFD group. The qPCR markers usually up-regulated in metabolic syndrome were decreased in BIT group. Bacteroides were higher in BIT group than other groups. There were also differences in gene expressions between two groups such as Cyp3a11 and Scd1. Conclusions We could find out BIT can ameliorate metabolic syndrome and suggest its effect is related to gut microbiota composition and gene expression pattern.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.1610-1616
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• 2020

Objective: This study was to evaluate the effect of husbandry systems and strains on cecum microbial diversity of Jingyang chickens under the same dietary conditions. Methods: A total of 320 laying hens (body weight, 1.70±0.15 kg; 47 weeks old) were randomly allocated to one of the four treatments: i) Silver-feathered hens in enrichment cages (SEC) with an individual cage (70×60×75 cm), ii) Silver-feathered hens in free range (SFR) with the stocking density of 1.5 chickens per ten square meters, iii) Gold-feathered hens in enrichment cages (GEC), iv) Gold-feathered hens in free range (GFR). The experiment lasted 8 weeks and the cecum fecal samples were collected for 16S rDNA high throughput sequencing at the end of experiment. Results: i) The core microbiota was composed of Bacteroidetes (49% to 60%), Firmicutes (21% to 32%) and Proteobacteria (2% to 4%) at the phylum level. ii) The core bacteria were Bacteroides (26% to 31%), Rikenellaceae (9% to 16%), Parabacteroides (2% to 5%) and Lachnoclostridium (2% to 6%) at the genus level. iii) The indexes of operational taxonomic unit, Shannon, Simpson and observed species were all higher in SFR group than in SEC group while in GEC group than in GFR group, with SFR group showing the greatest diversity of cecum microorganisms among the four groups. iv) The clustering result was consistent with the strain classification, with a similar composition of cecum bacteria in the two strains of laying hens. Conclusion: The core microbiota were not altered by husbandry systems or strains. The free-range system increased the diversity of cecal microbes only for silver feathered hens. However, the cecum microbial composition was similar in two strain treatments under the same dietary conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.699-708
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• 2022

Antibiotic exposure during pregnancy have an adversely effects on offspring behavior and development. However, its mechanism is still poorly understood. To uncover this, we added ceftriaxone sodium to the drinking water of rats during pregnancy and conducted three-chamber sociability test, open-field test, and Morris water maze test in 3- and 6-week-old offspring. The antibiotic group offspring showed lower sociability and spatial learning and memory than control. To determine the role of the gut microbiota and their metabolites in the changes in offspring behavior, fecal samples of 6-week-old offspring rats were sequenced. The composition of dominant gut microbial taxa differed between the control and antibiotic groups. KEGG pathway analysis showed that S24-7 exerted its effects through the metabolic pathways including mineral absorption, protein digestion and absorption, Valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis. Correlation analysis showed that S24-7 abundance was negatively correlated with the level of VEGF, and metabolites associated with S24-7-including 3-aminobutanoic acid, dacarbazine, L-leucine, 3-ketosphinganine, 1-methylnicotinamide, and N-acetyl-L-glutamate-were also significantly correlated with VEGF levels. The findings suggest that antibiotic exposure during pregnancy, specifically ceftriaxone sodium, will adversely affects the behavior of offspring rats due to the imbalance of gut microbiota, especially S24-7, via VEGF and various metabolic pathways.