Gut microbiome of dogs with canine parvovirus
The intestinal microbial dysbiosis in beagle puppies naturally infected with canine parvovirus
Canine parvoviral enteritis (PVE) is a crucial disease of the puppies; however, the potential impact of the canine parvovirus (CPV) on the gut microbiota has not been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the gut microbial shifts of puppies naturally infected with CPV. Fecal samples were collected from healthy dogs and those diagnosed as PVE at 4, 6, 8 and 12 weeks of age. The distal gut microbiota of dogs was characterized by Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA genes. The sequence data was analyzed using QIIME with an Operational Taxonomic Unit definition at a similarity cutoff of 97%. Our results showed that the CPV was associated with significant microbial dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota. Alpha diversity metrics, species richness and evenness in dogs with PVE decreased compared to healthy dogs. At the phylum level, proportions of Proteobacteria were significantly enriched in dogs with PVE while Bacteroidetes were significantly more abundant in healthy dogs (P<0.05). Enterobacteriaceae family in dogs with PVE was most abundant accounting for 36.44% of the total bacterial population, and it was significantly higher than 0.21% of healthy puppies. Genera, Prevotella and Lactobacillus in healthy puppies were significantly higher than those in puppies with PVE (P<0.05). These observations suggest that disturbances of gut microbial community are associated with PVE in young dogs. Evaluation of the role of these bacterial groups in the pathophysiology of PVE warrants further studies.