Browsing by Author "Williams DA"

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    One dog's waste is another dog's wealth: A pilot study of fecal microbiota transplantation in dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome
    (PLOS, 2021-04-19) Gal A; Barko PC; Biggs PJ; Gedye KR; Midwinter AC; Williams DA; Burchell RK; Pazzi P; Carbonero F
    Canine acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS) has been associated in some studies with Clostridioides perfringens overgrowth and toxin-mediated necrosis of the intestinal mucosa. We aimed to determine the effect of a single fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on clinical scores and fecal microbiomes of 1 and 7 dogs with AHDS from New Zealand and South Africa. We hypothesized that FMT would improve AHDS clinical scores and increase microbiota alpha-diversity and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing microbial communities' abundances in dogs with AHDS after FMT. We sequenced the V3-V4 region of the 16S-rRNA gene in the feces of AHDS FMT-recipients and sham-treated control dogs, and their healthy donors at admission, discharge, and 30 days post-discharge. There were no significant differences in median AHDS clinical scores between FMT-recipients and sham-treated controls at admission or discharge (P = 0.22, P = 0.41). At admission, the Shannon diversity index (SDI) was lower in AHDS dogs than healthy donors (P = 0.002). The SDI did not change from admission to 30 days in sham-treated dogs yet increased in FMT-recipients from admission to discharge (P = 0.04) to levels not different than donors (P = 0.33) but significantly higher than sham-treated controls (P = 0.002). At 30 days, the SDI did not differ between FMT recipients, sham-treated controls, and donors (P = 0.88). Principal coordinate analysis of the Bray-Curtis index separated post-FMT and donor dogs from pre-FMT and sham-treated dogs (P = 0.009) because of increased SCFA-producing genera's abundances after FMT. A single co-abundance subnetwork contained many of the same OTUs found to be differentially abundant in FMT-recipients, and the abundance of this module was increased in FMT-recipients at discharge and 30 days, compared to sham-treated controls. We conclude in this small pilot study FMT did not have any clinical benefit. A single FMT procedure has the potential to increase bacterial communities of SCFA-producing genera important for intestinal health up to 30 days post-FMT.
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    The effect of lyophilised oral faecal microbial transplantation on functional outcomes in dogs with diabetes mellitus
    (John Wiley and Sons Ltd on behalf of British Small Animal Veterinary Association, 2025-04-15) Brown R; Barko P; Ruiz Romero JDJ; Williams DA; Gochenauer A; Nguyen-Edquilang J; Suchodolski JS; Pilla R; Ganz H; Lopez-Villalobos N; Gal A
    Objectives: We aimed to determine if oral faecal microbiota transplantation improves indices of glycaemic control, changes the faecal dysbiosis indices, alters faecal short-chain fatty acid and bile acid profiles and increases serum glucagon-like-peptide 1 concentrations in diabetic dogs. Materials and Methods: In this prospective randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded pilot study, we recruited nine diabetic dogs (five faecal microbiota transplantation and four placebo) and nine healthy controls. Results: Compared to healthy dogs, diabetic dogs had altered faecal short-chain fatty acid and bile acid profiles. In the first 30 days, the faecal microbiota transplantation group had a more rapid decline in interstitial glucose; however, the mean interstitial glucose of the faecal microbiota transplantation recipients did not differ from the placebo recipients at the end of the study. Compared with placebo, faecal microbiota transplantation recipients had a decreased 24-hour water intake at day 60 and increased faecal abundance of Faecalibacterium. Clinical Significance: This study provides a proof of concept for faecal microbiota transplantation in canine diabetes, and its data could inform the design of future large-scale studies. Further investigation is required to determine whether faecal microbiota transplantation would have any role as an adjunctive therapy in canine diabetes and to elucidate the mechanisms by which faecal microbiota transplantation may provide a beneficial clinical effect in canine diabetes.