Microbiome

Microbiome

community of microorganisms that live in and on a host, mostly transferred from mother to offspring via nursing and vaginal birth, varies greatly within a host by site

Staphylococcus Epidermidis

commensal coagulase-negative staph bacteria, enhances innate immunity, limits pathogen invasion, induces T cell migration to epidermis when new organisms are detected

Dysbiosis

imbalance in the composition of the microbiome, two features include reduced microbial diversity ad decreased total number of beneficial bacteria

Disease Associated with Cutaneous Dysbiosis

atopic dermatitis, non-healing wounds, mast cell tumors, equine pastern dermatitis

Dysbiosis Mechnisms

proteases that cleave proteins are secreted by microbes, antimicrobial peptides can be induced, maintains a steady pH

Serine Protease

protease secreted by staphylococcus epidermidis, inhibits S. aureus from forming biofilms and breaks down formed biofilms

Staphylococcus aureus or psuedointermedius

coagulase positive opportunistic pathogens on the skin, commonly associated with pyoderma and associated with atopic dermatitis

Beta-Defensins

type of AMP that aids in cell recruitment and activation, wound healing, coat color, and defense against staphylococcus

Hygiene Hypothesis

early childhood exposure to microorganisms protects against allergies and autoimmunity, neonatal exposure to commensal bacteria is necessary to establish tolerance

Alpha Diversity

skin bacterial diversity, reduced in pets with atopic dermatitis or pyoderma

Next-Generation Sequencing

detecting the components of the microbiome using 16S rRNA primers

Cat Microbiome

contains a higher proportion of bacteriodetes due to constant grooming, proteobacteria → bacteriodetes → firmicutes → actinobacteria

Dog Microbiome

proteobacteria → actinobacteria → bacteriodetes → firmicutes (staph species), high amounts of moraxella (proteobacteria) species in the nostrils due to sniffing butts of other dogs

Moraxellacae

proteobacteria common in dog nostril microbiome due to sniffing the butt of other animals

Malassezia Pachydermatis

species of fungus commonly found in the dog’s skin microbiome with chronic atopic dermatits

Horse Microbiome

proteobacteria → firmicutes → actinobacteria → bacteriodetes

Equine Pastern Dermatitis

associated with dysbiosis of the cutaneous microbiome of the horse phalanges

Prebiotics

feeds healthy bacteria already present in the microbiome, typically with starches/fiber

Probiotics

supplementing with beneficial bacteria aiming to restore balance, can be topical or systemic, concerns with systemic effectiveness due to stomach pH killing most bacteria