Background Studies on microbiome responses to fecal microbiota transplants (FMTs) in large cohorts of companion animals are lacking in veterinary medicine but provide useful insights.
Hypothesis/Objectives We examine fecal microbiome changes in dogs receiving an oral FMT treatment.
Animals 71 dogs exhibiting chronic vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, or skin issues were enrolled.
Methods Fecal samples were collected from recipients before and two weeks after FMT treatment with capsules containing lyophilized stool given orally BID for ~25 days. Owners provided information on their dog’s health and response to treatment. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to analyze microbiome composition and statistical analyses were conducted using permutational anovas and linear models.
Results 75% of dogs were reported to show improvement in their clinical signs. Before FMT, dogs diagnosed with IBD had distinct microbiome compositions compared to dogs without this diagnosis (P=0.019). FMT recipients had less diverse fecal microbiomes than healthy dogs before FMT and remained less diverse afterwards. After FMT, microbiome composition was significantly related to response to treatment (P=0.039) and diet (P=0.024). Relative abundances of several bacteria changed differentially in FMT recipients. Clostridium decreased in those with vomiting and diarrhea (x̄ -2.86 %). Blautia increased in dogs with an IBD diagnosis (x̄ 2.03%) and decreased in dogs not diagnosed with IBD (x̄ -2.51%). Fusobacterium increased in dogs with diarrhea (x̄ 8.70%) compared to dogs without clinical signs or with skin issues (x̄ -2.24%).
Conclusions and clinical importance Oral capsule FMT treatment was helpful in this population and was accompanied by changes in fecal microbiome composition.
