GI08 - Evaluation of the Abundance of Ruminococcus gnavu­s in Dogs with Chronic Enteropathies

Background – Based on metagenomic DNA shotgun sequencing analysis, Ruminococcus gnavus is one of the most abundant bacterial species in both the human and the canine fecal microbiota. The abundance of R. gnavus has been reported to be increased in humans with inflammatory bowel disease and plays a role in bile acid (BA) metabolism. However, there is limited information regarding R. gnavus and its role in dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE).

Objectives – Describe the fecal abundance of R. gnavus from dogs with CE in comparison to healthy control dogs (HC) and its association with BA metabolism.

Animals –75 dogs with CE and 37 HC dogs.

Methods – Retrospective cross-sectional study. Fecal abundance of R. gnavus and dysbiosis index (DI) were quantified by qPCR. Fecal concentration of unconjugated primary and secondary BAs were measured by GC-MS. Fecal R. gnavus abundance was compared by Mann-Whitney U tests. The correlation analysis between fecal R. gnavus abundance and DI, and fecal R. gnavus abundance and BA composition were evaluated by Spearman’s correlation test.

Results – No significant difference (P=0.61) was found in fecal R. gnavus abundance between HC dogs (median[range]: 10.4[6.1-11.8] log DNA) and dogs with CE (10.2[6.0-12.4]). No significant correlations were found between fecal R. gnavus abundance and DI (rs=-0.08; P=0.41) nor fecal R. gnavus abundance and percentage of primary BAs (rs=0.01; P=0.90).

Conclusions and clinical importance – Our results do not support a role of R. gnavus in canine CE.