Implications of Dietary Fiber and Fermentable Carbohydrates on Gut Health and Intestinal Microbial Ecology of the Dog

The aim of this research was to assess the effects of dietary fiber and individual fermentable carbohydrates on gut health and gut microbial composition of dogs. Three experiments were conducted to (1) evaluate how supplemental mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) affect the dog gut and specific gut microbiota; (2) to evaluate if oligosaccharides like MOS and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) can replace beet pulp as a fiber source in dog diets; and (3) to determine how beet pulp affects the overall composition of the gut microbiome. The effect of supplemental MOS by itself was limited, with a linear decrease in fecal E. coli concentrations as the most notable result. Blends of FOS, MOS, and cellulose included at 2.5% of the diet resulted in similar responses when compared to 2.5% inclusion of beet pulp. Unexpectedly, beet pulp increased certain fecal microbial populations comparable to the FOS/MOS blends. Based on fecal short-chain fatty acid profiles, blends containing fermentable oligosaccharides appear to elicit similar fermentation responses compared to beet pulp. It was concluded that the blends used in this research can potentially replace beet pulp in dry dog foods at a 2.5% inclusion level. The effect of dietary fiber on gut microbiome composition was evaluated by adding 7.5% beet pulp to a low-fiber control diet. Diversity in the individual dog gut in this research was found to be similar to that in humans and non-human primates. The three dominant bacterial phyla in the dog gut were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Fusobacteria, and beet pulp appeared to increase Firmicute presence, whereas beet pulp decreased Fusobacteria presence. Furthermore, the composition of the gut microbiota appeared to be altered similarly in individual dogs fed the same diet when evaluated with principal component analysis. The general conclusion of this research was that fermentable carbohydrates can change gut microbial populations and the addition of dietary fiber affects the overall composition of the gut microbiome.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Animal Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Middelbos, Ingomar S.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Fahey, George C., Jr.

• Biology, Animal Physiology

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3347450

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/83619