Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2025
Murine Fecal Isolation and Microbiota Transplantation
Published on: May 26, 2023
Dynamics of Bacterial and Viral Transmission in Experimental Microbiota Transplantation
James Weagley1, Heyde Makimaa1, Luis Alberto Chica Cárdenas1
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Abstract:
Mouse models are vital tools for discerning the relative contributions of host and microbial genetics to disease, often requiring the transplantation of microbiota between different mouse strains. Transfer methods include antibiotic treatment of recipients and colonization using either co-housing with donors or the transplantation of fecal or cecal donor material. However, the efficiency and dynamics of these methods in reconstituting recipients with donor microbes is not well understood. We thus directly compared co-housing, fecal transplantation, and cecal transplantation methods. Donor mice from Taconic Biosciences, possessing distinct microbial communities, served as the microbial source for recipient mice from Jackson Laboratories, which were treated with antibiotics to disrupt their native microbiota. We monitored bacterial and viral populations longitudinally over the course of antibiotics treatment and reconstitution using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, quantitative PCR, and shotgun sequencing of viral-like particles. As expected, antibiotic treatment rapidly depleted microbial biomass and diversity, with slow and incomplete natural recovery of the microbiota in non-transplanted control mice. While all transfer methods reconstituted recipient mice with donor microbiota, co-housing achieved this more rapidly for both bacterial and viral communities. This study provides valuable insights into microbial transfer methods, enhancing reproducibility and informing best practices for microbiota transplantation in mouse models.
Insights
Comparing microbiota transfer methods in mice, this study found co-housing rapidly reconstitutes recipient gut bacteria and viruses. This research informs best practices for reproducible mouse models in disease research.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Genetics
Background:
- Mouse models are crucial for studying host-microbe interactions in disease.
- Microbiota transplantation is common but its efficiency is poorly understood.
- Standard methods include antibiotic treatment followed by co-housing or fecal/cecal transplants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To directly compare the efficiency of co-housing, fecal transplantation, and cecal transplantation for microbiota reconstitution in mice.
- To evaluate the dynamics of bacterial and viral community recovery after different transfer methods.
- To provide insights for optimizing microbiota transplantation protocols in preclinical research.
Main Methods:
- Antibiotic treatment was used to deplete native microbiota in recipient mice.
- Three transfer methods were compared: co-housing with donors, fecal microbiota transplantation, and cecal microbiota transplantation.
- Microbial communities were analyzed longitudinally using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, qPCR, and viral shotgun sequencing.
Main Results:
- Antibiotic treatment significantly reduced microbial biomass and diversity.
- All transfer methods successfully reconstituted recipient mice with donor microbiota.
- Co-housing demonstrated faster reconstitution of both bacterial and viral communities compared to transplantation methods.
Conclusions:
- Co-housing is an efficient method for rapid microbiota reconstitution in antibiotic-treated mice.
- Understanding these transfer dynamics enhances reproducibility in microbiome research.
- This study offers practical guidance for selecting optimal microbiota transplantation techniques in mouse models.
Related Concept Videos
01:33Bacterial Transformation
Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...
01:10Retrovirus Life Cycles
01:20Infection
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
00:57Viral Recombination