Timing of standard chow exposure determines the variability of mouse phenotypic outcomes and gut microbiota profile

Standard chow diets influence reproducibility in animal model experiments because chows have different nutrient compositions, which can independently influence phenotypes. However, there is little evidence of the role of timing in the extent of variability caused by chow exposure. Here we measured the impact of different diets (5V5M, 5V0G, 2920X and 5058) and timing of exposure (adult exposure (AE), lifetime exposure (LE) and developmental exposure (DE)) on growth and development, metabolic health indicators and gut bacterial microbiota profiles across genetically identical C57BL/6J mice. Diet drove differences in macro- and micronutrient intake for all exposure models. AE had no effect on phenotypic outcomes. However, LE mice exhibited significant sex-dependent diet effects on growth, body weight and body composition. LE effects were mostly absent in the DE model, where mice were exposed to chow differences only from conception to weaning. Both AE and LE models exhibited similar diet-driven beta diversity profiles for the gut bacterial microbiota, with 5058 diet driving the most distinct profile. However, compared with AE, LE effects on beta diversity were sex dependent, and LE mice exhibited nine times more differentially abundant bacterial genera, the majority of which were inversely affected by 2920X and 5058 diets. Our findings demonstrate that LE to different chow diets has the greatest impact on the reproducibility of several experimental measures commonly used in preclinical mouse model studies. Importantly, weaning mice from different diets onto the same diet for maturation may be an effective way to reduce unwanted phenotypic variability among experimental models.