Abstract
Simple SummaryThe impact of the gut microbiota on endurance performance remains unresolved. Here, we present an association between endurance performance and gut microbiota dysbiosis in sled dogs. We present evidence that normobiosis-associated bacteria prevent the outgrowth of dysbiosis-associated bacteria during the race.Although our understanding of the role of the gut microbiota in different diseases is improving, our knowledge regarding how the gut microbiota affects functioning in healthy individuals is still limited. Here, we hypothesize that the gut microbiota could be associated with sled dog endurance-race performance. We investigated the gut microbiota in 166 fecal samples from 96 Alaskan Huskies, representing 16 teams participating in the 2016 Femund Race (400 km) in Norway, relating the microbiota composition to performance and metadata derived from questionnaires. For 16S rRNA gene sequencing-derived compositional data, we found a strong negative association between Enterobacteriaceae (dysbiosis-associated) and Clostridium hiranonis (normobiosis-associated). The teams with the best performances showed both the lowest levels of dysbiosis-associated bacteria prior to the race and the lowest change (decrease) in these bacteria after the race. Taken together, our results support the hypothesis that normobiosis-associated bacteria are involved in resilience mechanisms, potentially preventing growth of Enterobacteriaceae during the race.
Highlights
The gut microbiota can be considered an organ, providing essential functions to the host, including short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, immune modulation, and protection against some pathogens
The aim of our study was to characterize the intestinal microbiota and level of dysbiosis in sled dogs participating in the 400 km Femund Race by means of 16S rRNA gene sequencing and fecal score measurements, with relation to performance and other factors, such as age, dietary information, and team
These results indicate the importance of gut dysbiosis in endurance performance
Summary
The gut microbiota can be considered an organ, providing essential functions to the host, including short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, immune modulation, and protection against some pathogens. The role of the intestinal microbiota in health and disease has been of increasing interest, with associations being explored in both intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases [1]. In healthy humans and dogs, the gut microbiota is in a stable normobiotic state [2] and is resilient towards changes. Following severe perturbations, such as extensive antibiotic treatment, the gut microbiota may not return to normobiosis but, rather, remain dysbiotic [3]. Animals 2020, 10, 204 the normal functions of the microbiota [2,4]. Increased oxygen tension has been related to the dysbiotic state [5]
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