Engineering the Microbiome for Animal Health and Conservation

Overview

Journal Exp Biol Med (Maywood)

Specialty Biology

Date 2019 Feb 20

PMID 30776908

Citations 39

Authors

Se Jin Song

Douglas C Woodhams

Cameron Martino

Celeste Allaband

Andre Mu

Sandrine Javorschi-Miller-Montgomery

Jan S Suchodolski

Rob Knight

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Considering the clear effects of microbiota on important aspects of animal biology and development (including in humans), this topic is timely and broadly appealing, as it compels us to consider the possibilities of altering the microbiome (without antibiotics) to positively affect animal health. In this review, we highlight three general approaches to manipulating the microbiome that have demonstrated success and promise for use in animal health. We also point out knowledge gaps where further inquiry would most benefit the field. Our paper not only provides a short and digestible overview of the current state of application, but also calls for further exploration of the microbial diversity at hand to expand our toolkit, while also leveraging the diversity and flexibility of animal systems to better understand mechanisms of efficacy.

Citing Articles

Fish gut microbiome and its application in aquaculture and biological conservation.

Hasan Kanika N, Liaqat N, Chen H, Ke J, Lu G, Wang J Front Microbiol. 2025; 15():1521048.

PMID: 39839099 PMC: 11747440. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1521048.

Changes in the intestinal microbiota of broiler chicken induced by dietary supplementation of the diatomite-bentonite mixture.

Wesierska E, Micek P, Adamski M, Gondek K, Lis M, Trela M BMC Vet Res. 2025; 21(1):13.

PMID: 39799366 PMC: 11724591. DOI: 10.1186/s12917-024-04439-4.

Manipulating a host-native microbial strain compensates for low microbial diversity by increasing weight gain in a wild bird population.

Somers S, Davidson G, Mbandlwa P, McKeon C, Stanton C, Ross R Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024; 121(43):e2402352121.

PMID: 39401350 PMC: 11513901. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2402352121.

Host-associated helminth diversity and microbiome composition contribute to anti-pathogen defences in tropical frogs impacted by forest fragmentation.

Neely W, Souza K, Martins R, Marshall V, Buttimer S, Brito de Assis A R Soc Open Sci. 2024; 11(6):240530.

PMID: 39100162 PMC: 11296196. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240530.

Antibiotic-altered gut microbiota explain host memory plasticity and disrupt pace-of-life covariation for an aquatic snail.

Davidson G, Cienfuegos I, Dalesman S ISME J. 2024; 18(1).

PMID: 38811063 PMC: 11136587. DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae078.

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