Microbiome of the Equine Gut and Respiratory Tract: Associations Between Bacterial Communities in Different Body Compartments and Animal Health

Airway disease, both infectious and inflammatory, is a major cause of morbidity in horses and an important limiting factor on athletic performance. There is evidence from animal models and from human studies to support the concept of a gut-lung axis i.e. biological cross-talk between the bacterial communities in the gut and in the lung. There is also a growing body of evidence in human medicine to support the efficacy of interventions directed at gut bacteria in the prevention or amelioration of respiratory disease. The aim of this project is to identify novel targets for respiratory health interventions in the horse through understanding interactions between gut and respiratory bacterial communities. 

Specific objectives include:

1. Characterise the respiratory microbiome in horses.
2. Determine associations between the respiratory microbiota and gut microbiota.
3. Measure local inflammatory cytokines in airway secretions and correlate with airway bacterial community profile.
4. Characterise changes in the airway and gut microbial community structure associated with respiratory disease.