Fecal microbiome profiling in fearful companion dogs
Behavioral dysfunctions in dogs represent one of the main social concerns, since they can endanger animals and human-dog relationship. Together with the trigger stimulus (human, animal, place, scent, auditory stimuli, object), dogs can experience stressful situations, either in multiple settings or unique situations, more often turning into generalized fear. Such a dysfunctional behavior can be associated with genetic susceptibility, environmental factors, traumatic experiences, and medical conditions. The available therapy, based on behavior, environmental management, and neurochemical manipulation through nutrition, supplements, medicines, and pheromones, represent the mainstays of the treatments currently accessible. Growing evidence in humans and animals highlight the importance of the gut-brain axis in the modulation of the brain physiology and behavior. Here, taking advantage of the next generation sequencing approach we sought to investigate the potential connection between gut microbiota and generalized fear dogs (n=8), when compared to healthy subjects (n=8), who lived in 16 different families. Then, using targeted LC-MS/MS method, we evaluated the metabolomics signature in the patients. Our results showed differentially abundance analysis in taxa related to Proteobacteria and Firmicutes Phyla, significantly altered in fearful dogs. In addition, metabolome analysis on the blood serum of the same showed significant alterations of molecules associated to GABA and glutamate neurotransmission in the patients, as well as bile acids metabolism. Overall, our preliminary and integrated investigations highlighted an intriguing role for the microbiome-metabolome network, allowing to further unveil the potential pathophysiology of relational issues in companion animals and paving the way for more effective therapeutical approaches.