203 The Effects of Daily Supplementation of Selected Probiotic and Postbiotic on the Microbiome of Adult Cats

Abstract

Abstract Probiotics, defined as “live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host” have been shown to beneficially affect health aspects, including body mass index, immune system modulation, and oxidative stress. There are still limited data on the microbiome and the probiotic effects in cats compared with humans. Looking into the feline microbiome could help us understand more about the gut health of these animals. This study was a complete randomized design with 36 cats [mean age = 4.98 1.97 yr; mean body condition score (BCS) = 6.33 1.08] divided into 3 treatments (n = 12/trt). Animals were fed a standard extruded commercial diet. The treatments used were control diet + placebo (maltodextrin carrier; CON), control diet + Probiotic (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis CECT8145; daily dosage: CFU/cat; PRO), and control diet + postbiotic (Heat-killed B. animalis subsp. lactis CECT8145; daily dosage: CFU/cat; POST). The objective of this study was to identify and analyze the effects of a selected probiotic and its heat-killed form on the feline microbiome. Fresh fecal samples were collected on days 0 and 90, DNA was extracted and sequenced using the method of ‘Whole Shotgun Sequencing’, abundance comparisons were carried out with the R limma voom package (3.48.3v) to find taxonomic groups and for pathway analysis, it was performed a differential abundance analysis at L3 between day 0 and 90 in each group and abundance comparisons between groups depending on time. Relative abundance of B. animalis increased (P < 0.05) over time in cats in the PRO group, which suggests potential colonization of the B. animalis fed in the live form in the feline gut. Cats in the CON group had an increment abundance of metabolites involved in carbon metabolism pathways and amino acid biosynthesis when compared with PRO and POST, whilst there was a decrease in the abundance of membrane transport, biofilm formation, and bacterial motility pathways in the CON group. In conclusion, the use of the probiotic and postbiotic had a similar effect on the overall feline metabolism, although more studies are needed to determine if B. animalis subsp. Lactis CECT 8145 can induce beneficial outcomes to the feline microbiome.