title: Microbial fingerprinting detects unique bacterial communities in the faecal microbiota of rats with experimentally-induced colitis.
abstract: An abnormal composition of the gut microbiota is believed to be associated with the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We utilized terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis to quantify faecal bacterial communities from rats with experimental colitis. Male Sprague Dawley rats (n=10/group) ingested 2% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) or water for up to 7 days. Rats were killed and colonic tissues collected for histological analysis. Damage severity score in the distal colon was significantly greater (P<0.001) following DSS consumption compared to controls. T-RFLP faecal bacterial profiles generated with either MspI or CfoI revealed a significant difference (P<0.001) in community composition between healthy and colitic rats, with bacterial composition in healthy rats more variable than in rats with colitis. Operational taxonomic units (OTU: taxonomically related groups of bacteria) associated with either the healthy or colitic state were identified. OTU (116, 226, 360, and 948; CfoI) and (118 and 188; MspI) were strongly associated with untreated healthy rats, while OTU (94, 98, 174, and 384; CfoI) and (94 and 914; MspI) were predominantly associated with DSS-treated colitic rats. Phylogenetic OTU assignment suggested that Bacteroidales and Lactobacillus sp. were predominantly associated with the colitic and healthy rats, respectively. These results show that faecal bacterial profiling is a rapid, sensitive and non-invasive tool for detecting and identifying changes in gut microbiota associated with colitis. Restoring microbial homeostasis by targeting colitis-associated OTU through specific microbiological interventions could form the basis of novel therapeutic strategies for IBD.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560030, India.
authors.forename: Ashis K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Samanta
authors.forename: Valeria A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Torok
authors.forename: Nigel J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Percy
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Abimosleh
authors.forename: Gordon S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Howarth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003092:Colitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054892:Metagenome; D010802:Phylogeny; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley