Using meta ‐analysis to understand the impacts of dietary protein and fat content on the composition of fecal microbiota of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris): A pilot study

This meta-analysis investigates the impact of dietary crude protein and fat on the fecal microbiota composition in healthy dogs. While overall community changes were minimal, individual taxonomic alterations were observed with increasing levels of protein and fat. The study highlights the role of low-abundant genera likeSharpea in differentiating the microbiome based on dietary intake, suggesting a need for further research into their functional roles. AbstractThe interplay between diet and fecal microbiota composition is garnering increased interest across various host species, including domestic dogs. While the influence of dietary macronutrients and their associated microbial communities have been extensively reviewed, these reviews are descriptive and do not account for differences in microbial community analysis, nor do they standardize macronutrient content across studies. To address this, a meta-analysis was performed to assess the impact of dietary crude protein ( “protein”) and dietary crude fat (“fat”) on the fecal microbiota composition in healthy dogs. Sixteen publications met the eligibility criteria for the meta-analysis, yielding a final data set of 314 dogs. Diets were classed as low, moderate, high, or supra in terms of protein or fat content . Sequence data from each publication were retrieved from public databases and reanalyzed using consistent bioinformatic pipelines. Analysis of community diversity indices and unsupervised clustering of the data ...
Source: MicrobiologyOpen - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research