Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2025

Fecal Glucocorticoid Analysis: Non-invasive Adrenal Monitoring in Equids
Published on: April 25, 2016
Gut microbiota changes in horses with Chlamydia
Youshun Jin1,2, Wei Li1, Xuli Ba1,2
1State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health of Agriculture Ministry Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730046, China.
Background:
Zoonotic diseases pose a significant threat to public health. Chlamydia, as an intracellular pathogen, can colonize the intestinal tract of humans and animals, changing the gut microbiota. However, only a few studies have evaluated alterations in the gut microbiota of horses infected with Chlamydia. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate gut microbiota and serum biochemical indicators in horses with Chlamydial infection (IG) and healthy horses (HG). Fecal and blood samples were collected from 16 horses (IG: 10; HG: 6) before morning feeding for the determination of gut microbiota and serum biochemical parameters.
Results:
The results showed that total globulin (GLB), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and creatine kinase (CK) levels were significantly increased in IG compared with HG. Notably, the gut microbial diversity increased in IG compared with HG. Furthermore, Moraxellaceae and Akkermanisa abundance decreased in IG, while Streptococcus, Treponema, Prevotella, and Paraprevotella abundances (13 genera of bacterial species) increased. Compared with HG, carbohydrate metabolism increased in IG while amino acid metabolism decreased. In addition, the abundance of 18 genera of bacteria was associated with the level of five serum biochemical indicators.
Conclusions:
In summary, this study elucidated the influence of Chlamydia infection in horses on the gut microbiota, unraveling consequential alterations in its composition and metabolic profile. Therefore, this study improves the understanding of Chlamydia-induced intestinal infections.
More Related Videos
08:07Author Spotlight: Isolation and Characterization of Equine Submucosal Enteric Glia — Implications for Preventing Postoperative Complications in Colic Surgery
Published on: October 4, 2024
08:33Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction-based Analyses of Murine Intestinal Microbiota After Oral Antibiotic Treatment
Published on: November 17, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial Phylum Chlamydiae
What is Monogastric Digestion?
Bacterial Flora of the Large Intestine
The normal gut flora of the colon plays a critical role in generating essential vitamins such as vitamins K, B5, and B7.
Diversity of Protists I