Authors: Ganda Erika, Chakrabarti Anirikh, Sardi Maria I, Tench Melissa, Kozlowicz Briana K, Norton Sharon A, Warren Lori K, Khafipour Ehsan
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Transportation stress and other environmental challenges can disrupt the equine hindgut microbiome, potentially compromising performance and health outcomes. Researchers supplemented 20 quarter horses with a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product (SCFP; 21 g/day) or control diet for 60 days, then subjected them to a 12-hour head-elevated tethering protocol to induce mild upper respiratory stress, analysing faecal microbiota via Nanopore metagenomics at multiple timepoints before and after challenge. The SCFP-treated group maintained significantly more stable alpha diversity (within-sample microbial richness) across all post-stress intervals (0–72 hours), whilst control horses experienced marked fluctuations at 12, 24 and 72 hours post-challenge; SCFP and control groups showed distinct microbiota compositions at 0 and 12 hours post-stress. For practitioners managing horses under transport or competition stress, these findings suggest that yeast-derived postbiotics may offer a pragmatic tool to buffer microbiome destabilisation and maintain microbial stability during challenging periods, though the long-term functional implications for clinical health outcomes require further investigation.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Consider SCFP supplementation (21 g/day) for horses undergoing known stressful events like transportation or environmental challenges to maintain gut microbiome stability
- •Postbiotic supplementation may buffer the negative effects of acute stress on the equine microbiome, potentially supporting overall health and performance during stressful periods
- •Microbiome stabilization appears most critical in the immediate 12-72 hour window following stress exposure
Key Findings
- •SCFP supplementation stabilized fecal microbiome alpha diversity across all timepoints, while control horses showed significant fluctuation at 12, 24, and 72 hours post-stress (P < 0.05)
- •Significant differences in microbiome composition between SCFP and control groups were observed at 0 and 12 hours post-stress challenge
- •SCFP treatment resulted in more robust and stable microbial profiles in horses after acute stress exposure