Human placenta, fetus and meconium were believed sterile until several recent studies, based on culture independent techniques, showed the presence of bacterial populations. The origin of the microbiota of the fetal gastrointestinal tract have not yet been conclusively determined, although bacterial translocation from maternal circulation, or ascension from the vagina, are both likely to be contributing pathways (Stinson et al., 2017). Studied conducted in mice demonstrated that fetal gut microbiota could be indirectly altered by changing the dam’s nutrition (Wilczynska et al., 2019). The microbiome composition of the first meconium of puppies remains undescribed. Breed size has been shown to affect the puppies intestinal microbiota (Guard et al., 2017) and environmental factors affect the fecal microbiota in dogs (Vilson et al., 2018).
OBJECTIVES
1. To describe the meconium microbiome of new-born puppies of two different medium-size breeds as well as the faecal and vaginal microbiome of their dams.
2. To assess whether any relationship exists between new-born puppy and dam microbiomes.
HYPOTHESIS
If puppies meconium is not sterile, the richness and diversity of meconium microbiome are associated with the richness and diversity of the dam’s faecal microbiome.