Effect of Gender Bias on Equine Fecal Microbiota.
Authors: Hu Dini, Chao Yuzhu, Li Youlin, Peng Xiangqian, Wang Chen, Wang Zhenbiao, Zhang Dong, Li Kai
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Gender-Related Differences in Equine Fecal Microbiota Whilst gender-associated variation in intestinal microbiota is well-established in human medicine, its relevance to equine health remained unexplored until this 2021 investigation of Przewalski's horses. Using 16S rRNA sequencing on faecal samples from seven mares and seven stallions, researchers characterised the microbial community composition, diversity metrics, and taxonomic differences between sexes. Female horses demonstrated significantly higher Shannon diversity indices, suggesting greater microbial richness and evenness in their gut ecosystems, whilst males harboured substantially elevated levels of disease-associated taxa including spirochetes, deltaproteobacteria, fibrobacteria, and spirochaetales—bacterial groups commonly implicated in equine gastrointestinal and systemic disease. Though overall microbiota composition showed modest gender effects, the marked differences in dominant microbial taxa at multiple classification levels indicate that sex should be considered a meaningful biological variable when interpreting microbiota analyses or designing nutritional interventions. For practitioners managing herd health, reproduction programmes, or interpreting individual faecal microbiota results, these findings suggest that sex-specific baselines may improve diagnostic accuracy and that male horses might warrant particular attention to microbiota-modifying strategies such as targeted dietary supplementation or probiotic protocols.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Gender should be documented as a biological variable when interpreting fecal microbiota results or conducting microbiota studies in horses, as it significantly influences microbial composition
- •Male horses may warrant closer monitoring for dysbiosis-related conditions given their higher abundance of disease-associated microorganisms, though clinical significance requires further investigation
- •Microbiota-based health assessments and management strategies may need sex-specific considerations in equine practice
Key Findings
- •Female Przewalski's horses demonstrated significantly higher Shannon diversity in fecal microbiota compared to males
- •Male Przewalski's horses contained substantially higher amounts of disease-related microorganisms across 8 taxonomic classifications including spirochetes and deltaproteobacteria
- •Gender significantly altered dominant microbial community composition at all classification levels despite minimal overall microbiota effect
- •Female horses showed fewer genera in the top 10 abundant taxa compared to males, indicating different microbial profiles between sexes