Bile acid metabolism is a key pathway modulated by intestinal microbiota. Peptacetobacter (Clostridium) hiranonis has been described as the main species responsible for the conversion of primary into secondary fecal unconjugated bile acids (fUBA) in dogs. This multi-step biochemical pathway is encoded by the bile acid-inducible (bai) operon. We aimed to assess the correlation between P. hiranonis abundance, the abundance of one specific gene of the bai operon (baiCD), and secondary fUBA concentrations. In this retrospective study, 133 fecal samples were analyzed from 24 dogs. The abundances of P. hiranonis and baiCD were determined using qPCR. The concentration of fUBA was measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The baiCD abundance exhibited a strong positive correlation with secondary fUBA (ρ = 0.7377, 95% CI (0.6461, 0.8084), p < 0.0001). Similarly, there was a strong correlation between P. hiranonis and secondary fUBA (ρ = 0.6658, 95% CI (0.5555, 0.7532), p < 0.0001). Animals displaying conversion of fUBA and lacking P. hiranonis were not observed. These results suggest P. hiranonis is the main converter of primary to secondary bile acids in dogs.

Introduction: Anxiety and cognitive dysfunction are frequent, difficult to treat and burdensome comorbidities in human and canine epilepsy. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been shown to modulate behavior in rodent models by altering the gastrointestinal microbiota (GIM). This study aims to investigate the beneficial effects of FMT on behavioral comorbidities in a canine translational model of epilepsy.Methods: Nine dogs with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) and behavioral comorbidities were recruited. The fecal donor had epilepsy with unremarkable behavior, which exhibited a complete response to phenobarbital, resulting in it being seizure-free long term. FMTs were performed three times, two weeks apart, and the dogs had follow-up visits at three and six months after FMTs. Comprehensive behavioral analysis, including formerly validated questionnaires and behavioral tests for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)- and fear- and anxiety-like behavior, as well as cognitive dysfunction, were conducted, followed by objective computational analysis. Blood samples were taken for the analysis of antiseizure drug (ASD) concentrations, hematology, and biochemistry. Urine neurotransmitter concentrations were measured. Fecal samples were subjected to analysis using shallow DNA shotgun sequencing, real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based Dysbiosis Index (DI) assessment, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) quantification.Results: Following FMT, the patients showed improvement in ADHD-like behavior, fear- and anxiety-like behavior, and quality of life. The excitatory neurotransmitters aspartate and glutamate were decreased, while the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and GABA/glutamate ratio were increased compared to baseline. Only minor taxonomic changes were observed, with a decrease in Firmicutes and a Blautia_A species, while a Ruminococcus species increased. Functional gene analysis, SCFA concentration, blood parameters, and ASD concentrations remained unchanged.Discussion: Behavioral comorbidities in canine IE could be alleviated by FMT. This study highlights FMT’s potential as a novel approach to improving behavioral comorbidities and enhancing the quality of life in canine patients with epilepsy.

This study described the epidemiological, clinical, pathological and bacteriological aspects of Mannheimia haemolytica pleuropneumonia in goats associated with shipping stress. Forty goats transported from the Northeast to the Southern region of Brazil died during shipment, or 2-3 days after unloading. Clinical signs included dyspnea, mucopurulent nasal discharge, and coughing. All goats were necropsied, and multiple tissues were collected for histopathological analysis and involved agent identifications. All lungs showed pulmonary consolidation, predominantly affecting the cranioventral lobes, in addition to the marked fibrinous pleuritis, pleural thickening, and pleural adhesions, that affected 90% of the goats. Histologically, there was fibrino-suppurative pleuropneumonia characterized by a diffuse neutrophilic infiltrate admixed with fibrin. Non-hemolytic [85% (34/40)] and hemolytic [15% (6/40)] species were obtained in bacteriological culture. Fir Mannheimia spp. was reported in 26 isolates and subsequently confirmed as M. haemolytica (99% identity), after amplification and partial sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene. Stress may trigger the development of bacterial pleuropneumonia in goats, and non-hemolytic strains of M. haemolytica may cause this condition in goats with severe immunosuppression.

Background: In previous studies, only a subset of dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE) had an increased dysbiosis index (DI) or altered fecal metabolites or both, suggesting differences in underlying intestinal pathophysiology between these subsets. Objectives: To compare microbial functional genes and fecal metabolites between healthy dogs with DI < 0 (HC) and dogs with CE and DI > 0 (increased DI-CE) or DI < 0 (normal DI-CE). Animals: Retrospective cross-sectional study including 78 HC and 138 CE dogs. Methods: Fecal microbiome was assessed by DNA shotgun sequencing. Dysbiosis index was quantified by qPCR. Targeted fecal metabolites, long-chain fatty acids, sterols, bile acids (BAs), and carbohydrates were measured using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Results: In permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), functional gene profiles showed larger shifts in increased DI-CE (median R2 [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 0.12 [0.08–0.17]) than normal DI-CE (0.02 [0.01–0.04]) compared with HC (adjusted-p < 0.02), characterized by increased counts of carbohydrate and lipid degradation genes. Similarly, increased DI-CE (PERMANOVA, median R2 [95% CI] = 0.23 [0.14–0.34]) had larger shifts in fecal metabolome than normal DI-CE (0.10 [0.04–0.20]; adjusted-p < 0.02). Increased DI-CE had lower fecal unconjugated secondary BAs percentage (95% CI; HC, 88.4%–96.4%; normal DI-CE, 79.8%–99.0%; increased DI-CE, 28.1%–64.1%) and transporter-independent carbohydrates (combined ribose, xylose, rhamnose, and arabinose) concentrations (1.6–2.6; 0.7–1.8; 0.3–1.3 ng/mg; adjusted-p < 0.01). Conclusions: Results indicate differences in fecal microbial gene profiles and metabolome in increased DI-CE versus normal DI-CE and HC, suggesting dogs with an increased DI have more severe intestinal changes in metabolic functions.