2007-08: Project Five
What’s living in your cat’s intestine?
Drs. Janet Hill and Anthony Carr (WCVM).
Intestinal health issues such as inflammatory bowel disease and diarrhea are among the top problems that prompt owners to bring their cats to veterinarians. These issues are directly or indirectly related to the structure and function of the bacterial community living in cats’ intestines. But despite its significance to cats’ health and nutrition, veterinary researchers know very little about the actual composition of the “normal flora” within the feline intestine.
During the next year, WCVM researchers will develop the first comprehensive description of the microbial community of the cat’s distal intestine. The research team’s examinations will focus on fecal samples collected from a group of healthy indoor and predominately outdoor cats. After extracting DNA from these samples, researchers will use molecular methods to develop a sequence-based “fingerprint” of the microbial community.
This important body of work will lay the foundation for future studies aimed at understanding the dynamics of this microbial community and its role in feline and human health. Scientists will also use the study’s sequence database for the future development of molecular tools for quantitative analysis of intestinal population structure and dynamics.
