Abstract
BackgroundTraditionally, changes in the microbial population of the nose have been assessed using conventional culture techniques. Sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes demonstrated that the human nose is inhabited by a rich and diverse bacterial microbiome that cannot be detected using culture-based methods. The goal of this study was to describe the nasal microbiome of healthy cats, cats with nasal neoplasia, and cats with feline upper respiratory tract disease (FURTD).Methodology/Principal findingsDNA was extracted from nasal swabs of healthy cats (n = 28), cats with nasal neoplasia (n = 16), and cats with FURTD (n = 15), and 16S rRNA genes were sequenced. High species richness was observed in all samples. Rarefaction analysis revealed that healthy cats living indoors had greater species richness (observed species p = 0.042) and Shannon diversity (p = 0.003) compared with healthy cats living outdoors. Higher species richness (observed species p = 0.001) and Shannon diversity (p<0.001) were found in middle-aged cats in comparison to healthy cats in different age groups. Principal coordinate analysis revealed separate clustering based on similarities in bacterial molecular phylogenetic trees of 16S rRNA genes for indoor and outdoor cats. In all groups examined, the most abundant phyla identified were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, 375 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified. In healthy cats and cats with FURTD, Moraxella spp. was the most common genus, while it was unclassified Bradyrhizobiaceae in cats with nasal neoplasia. High individual variability was observed.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that the nose of cats is inhabited by much more variable and diverse microbial communities than previously shown. Future research in this field might help to develop new diagnostic tools to easily identify nasal microbial changes, relate them to certain disease processes, and help clinicians in the decision process of antibiotic selection for individual patients.
Highlights
Microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, colonize the entire body
The following factors were considered in the analysis of nasal microbial composition of healthy cats: the influence of age, environment, group housing, familial relationship between cats, and sampling with or without anesthesia
Additional samples from more cats are needed to arrive at further conclusions, the results suggest that the composition of the bacterial community is influenced by age and different environmental factors
Summary
Microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, colonize the entire body To understand their complex community structure, biology, and ecology, analyses of the microbial diversity of the body are important [1]. It is known that the microbiome supports the stimulation, development, and modulation of the immune system [7] It influences the structure of the mucosa and skin and prevents its host from being colonized by potentially pathogenic microorganisms [8]. A number of studies have reported compositional alterations in the microbiome of the nose of healthy and diseased humans [10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28]. The goal of this study was to describe the nasal microbiome of healthy cats, cats with nasal neoplasia, and cats with feline upper respiratory tract disease (FURTD)
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